Chicken Parmesan

I'm calling this a two-fer. You can serve it over pasta, or eat it as a sandwich. Personally, I much prefer the sandwich. Nice, crispy chicken with ooey-gooey melty cheese on a lightly toasted bun. Don't judge, but I'm just not a fan of pasta. I realize that's not normal, but I think I was damaged but my grandmother, who thought that pasta should be cooked until you couldn't cook it any more. It was horribly mushy and was always accompanied by a big glass of milk. I am also not a fan of milk. When I wouldn't drink my milk at dinner, it got put into the fridge for me to have in the morning... yuck! So on that note, pasta is not one of my go-to meals. That obviously helps with the carb intake, which is a good thing.

INGREDIENTS:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 eggs

1C. Italian flavored bread crumbs

1C. grated Parmesan cheese

1/2C. vegetable oil - for frying

1 jar spaghetti sauce

6 slices mozzarella cheese

Rinse and pat the chicken to get rid of any excess water. Trim any fat from your chicken and cut them in half width-wise.

You will need a meat mallot

(a frying pan will work too)
and plastic wrap
Cut yourself a nice long piece of plastic wrap

and place a piece of chicken about 1/3 from the right-side edge

fold the wrap over the chicken

With the flat side of the meat mallot

beat the crap out of the chicken until it's about 1/2" thick. If you've never done this before, start out lightly until you get the hang of it. I usually start in the middle of the piece of chicken and work my way out. If you beat on it too hard, it will turn to chicken mush.

Continue until all of your chicken is pounded out.

Set aside
In a pie plate, add eggs

and beat with a fork until it looks like scrambled eggs

In another pie plate, combine bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese

Now, get a cookie sheet and a cooling rack. I wrap the cookie sheet with aluminum foil to save on clean up later. Place the cooking rack on top of the cookie sheet

Now set up an assembly line: chicken, eggs, crumbs, cooling rack with cookie sheet

Using tongs, take a piece of chicken and dip it in the eggs, turning so it's coated on both sides. Then place it in the crumbs and make sure it's well coated with crumbs on both sides. Then place on the cooling rack.

Continue until all of the chicken is coated

Then place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

This will help the coating stick to the chicken.
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan at about medium to medium high heat. I started mine at 7, then reduced it to 6.

Add 3 pieces of chicken to the hot oil

and cook for about 5 minutes.
Emeril Lagasse used to say those knobs on your stove are not decoration. If the chicken is spattering a lot, turn the knob down a notch. Yeah, I said it. I typed it, then realized it afterwards. Homage to Emeril!
When the chicken is well browned on the one side, turn it over

and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Drain on a paper towel lined plate

Continue until all of the chicken is cooked.
Put the spaghetti sauce in a 9x13" casserole dish

Then place the chicken on top of the sauce

then place a slice of mozzarella cheese over each piece of chicken

Put in into the preheated oven for about 12-15 minutes, until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling

Here is where you'd serve it over your pasta of choice.
Here is where I toasted a sub roll, cut a piece of chicken in half, put a little sauce on it and ate it up...YUM!

So, tell me which you prefer, over pasta or as a sandwich. Either way, I hope you enjoy!