Chicken Parmigiana

Just had this seconds ago and it was soooo good. Yum. I didn't know I could make Italian like this! :P I could taste everything...the olives, basil, parmesan, everything. It was DELICIOUS. I think I liked it better than the lasagna I made, only because this tasted like authentic Italian and just about everything was fresh except for the tomatoes. Anyway, I have been making so many unhealthy meals that last week and this week I've been making more healthy foods to eat. Today's dinner was the exception. Gotta pig out at least once a week right? Well, maybe more than once. Yum. Still can't get those flavors outta my taste.

I didn't take any step by step photos because I made this really late like at 8:30pm. My baby kept crying and wanted me to hold him until his dad came home, so this time dinner wasn't ready until 10:00 for us. I even put him in the kitchen to watch me, but he still cried. He usually loves the kitchen. Natural born chef, maybe? Or maybe just an eater? Ok, I'm very tired now...gotta go...

Note: I didn't follow the recipe exactly. I pounded my chicken breasts with a mallet to flatten it so it would cook faster. I also did not put the sauce over the chicken into the oven because I wanted my chicken to still be crispy. I pan fried the chicken until golden brown and crispy on the outside then put it in the oven for 10 minutues depending on how thick the chicken breasts are. I put the sauce around the chicken at the last 5 minutes along with the mozarella cheese until cheese melted and then served with the pasta.

Recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence of Food Network (thank you Tyler!)

IngredientsChicken Parmigiana
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted
1/2 bunch fresh basil leaves
2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, drained and hand-crushed
Pinch sugar
Pinch red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon water
1 cup dried plain bread crumbs
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 (8-ounce) ball fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1 pound spaghetti pasta, cooked al dente
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Method:Coat a saute pan with olive oil and place over medium heat. When the oil gets hazy, add the onions, garlic, and bay leaves; cook and stir for 5 minutes until fragrant and soft. Add the olives and some hand-torn basil, reserve the rest of the basil for finishing the chicken. Carefully add the tomatoes (nothing splashes like tomatoes), cook and stir until the liquid is cooked down and the sauce is thick, about 15 minutes; season with sugar, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Lower the heat, cover, and keep warm.

Get the ingredients together for the chicken so you have a little assembly line. Put the flour in a shallow platter and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly. In a wide bowl, combine the eggs and water, beat until frothy. Put the bread crumbs on a plate, add the 1 cup parmesan, chopped parsley, and garlic powder Season with salt and pepper and stir with a fork until thoroughly combined.

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high flame in a large oven-proof skillet. Lightly dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour, and then dip them in the egg wash to coat completely, letting the excess drip off, then dredge in the bread crumbs. When the oil is nice and hot, add the cutlets and fry for 4 minutes on each side until golden and crusty, turning once.

Ladle the tomato-olive sauce over the chicken and arrange the mozzarella on top. Sprinkle with Parmesan, and remaining basil. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. Serve hot with spaghetti