Chicken Parmesan

Whenever I go out to restaraunts, I try to avoid eating chicken, because I can have that any time at home. Because of that, I doubt I've ever ordered Chicken Parmesan anywhere. Sure, I've had before, but it's never stuck out in my head as anything that incredible, yet other people seem to love it.

I was browsing through some blogs the other day, and came across Oven Baked Chicken Parmesan on Good Things Catered. And for some reason it just appealed to me. It reminded me of another version I'd seen recently on the blog A Year in the Kitchen. So I compared the two and decided on the A Year in the Kitchen version, as I prefered her cooking method, but to I wanted to include some ingredients from the other recipe. We decided to have our close friends, Sumer and Michael, over for dinner, and I knew this would be a great choice. Sage made this one, and it was quick and easy. It's a great dish for company too, because while its in the oven, you can quickly clean up the kitchen, throw together a salad and cook your pasta, or you can even opt to make it ahead of time and keep warm in the oven.

This was absolutely delicious, which isn't something you'll hear me say very often about a piece of chicken. I even got excited about getting to eat the leftovers (Just as tasty, BTW.) You could serve this over any kind of pasta, but I had some whole wheat egg noodles I wanted to give a try. Usually we buy the Yoke-free ones, but the whole wheat were great- they taste the closest to regular white noodles of any whole wheat ones I've ever had. Our chicken breasts were very large, so we only used 3, and halved them, and it was more than enough for 4 people, but this makes enough to dredge several more breasts to serve more people.

adapted from A Year in the Kitchen (with influence by Good Things Catered)

3-5 chicken breasts

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp milk

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 cup olive oil (or more if needed)

2 1/2 cups zesty marinara

1 3/4 cups mozzarella (or 1 1/2 cups mozzarella & 1/4 cup parmesan)

cooked pasta

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pound chicken to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut each breasts into half.

Set out 3 shallow bowls, one with flour, one with egg and milk, and one with mixed breadcrumbs and seasonings. Dip chicken in flour, tap off excess, wash in egg, then press into breadcrumbs.

Heat larget skillet and add oil. Working in batches, place chicken into hot oil and cook for 3-4 minutes per side, until golden. Take chicken out, and drain on paper towels. Add extra oil if necessary. Proceed with remaining chicken.

Add half the marinara to a baking dish. Place chicken on top of sauce in a single layer. Cover with remaining marinara and cheese, bake for 20 minutes, or until brown and bubbly. Serve over pasta. (If you're not eating chicken right away, lower oven to 250 degrees, cover with foil, and serve when ready.)