Chicken Parmesan

I haven't been this excited about a recipe in a very long time. I never thought about making this until one day I was craving it pretty heavily. I went online to find a recipe, but, naturally, I had to revise it to make it better! The one I found was swimming in sauce, but I used a basic knowledge of food skillz and developed this bad boy. One of my best dishes yet.




Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2-3/4 inch
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup olive oil
a package of basic sliced mozzarella cheese
1-2 cups seasoned bread crumbs
a bit of grated parmesan cheese
a bit of basil
1/4 a package of spaghetti per person
tomato sauce*

Begin by preheating the oven to 350. If you have a crazy oven that burns everything (I had one once, UGH), only preheat it to 325. This is a super delicate recipe.

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.

Whisk the egg and milk together in a small or medium bowl. Dip your pounded chicken in that concoction, and then into the bread crumbs (ideally, these are in a seperate bowl).

Now, add the chicken to the olive oil. Cook about 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Note: the chicken will not be fully cooked, so ew, don't eat it.

Take out a baking dish (ideally either nonstick or glass) and pour about 1/2 cup of tomato sauce along the bottom. It shouldn't be a pool of sauce: just enough to cover the bottom very lightly.

Drop your chickenz into this dish. Drip a bit more sauce on top of the chicken breasts. It really doesn't matter how much: if you like sauce, go ahead and add a bunch! Just leave the edges sauce free, as if you're making a pizza with crust. Then, place a slice or two of mozarella on top of each piece of chicken. I only used one and it was perfect. Next, add a bit of parmesan cheese on top of the mozzarrella. Oddly, this recipe is more mozzarella-y than parmesan-y. If you really love parmesan, add more! Then, add another layer of sauce. Cover this with some chopped basil and perhaps a tiny bit more parmesan. Use a little more sauce to fill the wholes in your dish (places where there is no chicken), cause it will taste good.

Cook this in the oven 25 minutes, or until the cheese looks bubbly and not burnt. Ha.

Meanwhile, cook your spaghetti according to its directions. Once it is finished, strain it, then ADD IT TO THE SAUCE PAN with the remaining sauce. Swirl it around in the sauce so the spaghetti really absorbs it.

And once your chicken is done, arrange it how you like, and you're good! Pair with a medium-bodied red wine, I'd say.

*An Ingenious Tomato Sauce Recipe to go with it
Ingredients
1 15-oz can tomato sauce
2 Roma tomatoes, peeled
a bit of basil
1-2 tbsp butter (depending on your love for butter)
2 tbsp minced OR sliced garlic
a dash of red wine (recommend Chianti)

Heat the butter in a saute pan over medium to medium-high heat, until melted. Add the tomato sauce and allow it to come to a bit of a boil. Once it has boiled, reduce heat to a sort of high simmer. Add the Roma tomatoes. (Sidenote: peel your own tomatoes! Just boil water, add tomatoes, allow them to cook 2 minutes, then skin them with a knife!) Initially, I suggest you chop them, then later crush them in the sauce. Add the garlic and basil. Add the wine at the point of your choosing. If you like the taste of burnt-off wine, (that is, if you're not a wino), add it straight away. If you enjoy winey sauce, add it about 3 minutes before you eat. Let this all simmer while you're cooking something else. Ideally, you should let it simmer for about 8-10 min. Then yay, sauce!