Monday, May 28, 2012

Chicken Parmesan

When the craving for chicken Parmesan struck this weekend, I turned straight to the Cook Yourself Thin website.  I liked the basic idea, but knew that their method of substituting low fat ricotta for a thick layer of mozzarella wasn't going to cut it.  I also didn't feel like making their tomato sauce.  So I kept looking and added in an Ellie Krieger recipe and a few of my own ideas.  The result melted right in my mouth and the leftovers were just as good reheated a few days later.


Ingredients
(Recipe inspired by Cook Yourself Thin and Ellie Krieger)
Yield: 2 servings
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ cup panko
  • 1 egg white
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 8 oz boneless chicken breast
  • 16 oz can of crushed tomatoes
  • 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese
  • 2 tablespoons Parmesan
  • 2 zucchini (or 4 oz linguine if you're craving pasta)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Oil spray
Method

Trim the chicken breast and blot with a paper towel.

Cover with plastic wrap and grab a meat mallet.

Pound it out thin with the smooth side of the mallet.  Another name for a meat mallet is a meat tenderizer, and that's exactly what we're doing in this step...making that chicken so tender that it will melt away as soon as it hits your tongue.  Slice it into two pieces.

Measure out the seasonings.

Stir the seasonings into the panko.

Set out bowls with the egg white and flour.

Dredge the chicken in the flour...

And through the egg white...

And finally through the panko.  Preheat the oven to 350°.

Spray oil into a skillet and heat until it sizzles.  Cook the chicken in batches for about 3 minutes on each side.

 Meanwhile, get serious with the zucchini and a vegetable peeler.  Peel the skin, and keep peeling until you reach the seeds.  Snack on the zucchini centers while you finish cooking.

Set the chicken into an 8" baking dish.

Top with crushed tomatoes.

And cheese!

Bake for 10 minutes, until the cheese bubbles.

Saute the zucchini (skin and all) for a few minutes until tender.


Serve the "pasta".

Top with the chicken.

2 comments:

  1. wondering: could you prepare the chicken up to the point where you'd put it into the oven, and then freeze? i am always looking for make-ahead-and-bake-later dishes, and this looks super yum.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Smartygirl,

      I haven't tried this, but the sauce should protect the chicken from drying out, so it's worth trying.

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