Day 58 – This is one of my son’s favorite meals. When it is his turn to choose a special meal it is usually this. He asked specifically that I make the fried kind and homemade sauce when he made his request for Chicken Parm. If you like a lot of sauce on with your chicken and pasta I would double the sauce. We usually like a lot of sauce on our meals but for some reason the Chicken Parm is one they want more cheese than sauce. Strange family I know!
Verdict: This is not a great picture of a really good meal. As many of you know I usually take a picture of my plate as we are sitting down to eat. No special filters or lighting. But, this night we sat down really late. We are slowly turning back to our summer eating schedule. Sunsets here about 9:45 pm on the Solstice. We tend to eat later as the sunsets so much later. It was a bit dark but this is a really good dish. It really isn’t that complicated to make but takes time to pound down the chicken, bread it, fry it and then put it in the oven for a bit. This is a great weekend meal so that you can make the sauce, fry the chicken. Again, not complicated but more time consuming.
I served this with a simple antipasti salad and spaghetti to complete the meal.
Chicken Parmigiana with Homemade Sauce
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- salt and pepper, to taste
Chicken:
- 1 1/2 -2 lbs. chicken breast, boneless and skinless, pounded down to 1/2″ thickness
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- salt and black pepper
- 1 cup flour
- oil for frying
- 8 oz. Mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
- Extra Parmesan cheese for serving as desired
Directions:
- Make sauce first: Add the olive oil and onion to the pan and cook on medium-low until very lightly browned.
Add the garlic and let cook for 15 seconds or so until you can smell the garlic. Add in the rest of the ingredients and simmer, covered, on low for at least 30 minutes. Taste and adjust spices to your liking.
- For Chicken: Place flour on a large plate. Mix breadcrumbs, garlic powder, onion powder, basil, grated Parmesan cheese, salt and black pepper on a second plate until well blended. On a third plate beat 2 eggs until well beaten. Dip chicken first in flour making sure it is well coated but shaking off excess. Then dip in egg covering completely. Then move to breadcrumbs pressing slightly to completely coat chicken.
- Heat oil in a large sauce pan about 1/4″ to shimmering. Carefully add chicken breast cooking for 6-8 minutes on first side until golden brown. Turn chicken over and cook second side. It will take less time to cook second side. Place chicken on a paper towel on a plate to absorb any extra oil. If your oil smokes or chicken cooks too quickly turn down the heat and remove the pan from burner for a minute. Oil must be hot before adding chicken or it will be greasy.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9″ x 13″ baking dish with 1 cup of sauce in the bottom of the pan. Add chicken to pan in a single layer. Pour 1 cup of sauce over the chicken leaving some areas uncovered. Sprinkle with Mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese over chicken. Bake for 20-25 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly and chicken is cooked through.
- Remove from oven and allow to rest 5 minutes before serving with extra sauce and Parmesan cheese as desired.
What's for Dinner Moms? 
Chicken Parmigiana with Homemade Sauce
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Thanks!
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I know the chicken parmigiana from the time we lived in the States. I loved it!! Thank you for sharing this recipe today. I will try it out for sure!
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Thank you! It is one of those Italian/American dishes that we love here.
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And not only you… haha. What we know (and cook over here) from Italy is called Piccata Milanese which is similar. It is with plain chicken and tomato spaghetti (the sauce on the spaggheti not on the chicken) and often the chicken is baked in an egg coating instead of breadcrumbs. Perhaps that would make a nice variation for you to try out.
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Ah! Piccata here is lemon and capers which I think I may make tomorrow or the next day. It is my daughter’s favorite dish. I will have to see what I can find on Piccata Milanese! Thanks.
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Do you make your own chicken stock or buy from the store?
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A bit of both. When I have extra chicken bones I store them in my freezer until I have a slow cooker full. Then I make my own stock and freeze it. But, if I don’t have any on hand I will use a box.
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Hi Marci! Does this one freeze well? It looks DELICIOUS!
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This is super easy to make and freeze. I would freeze extra sauce on the side. Also if you want to precook the pasta I would suggest cooking it in some sauce. It will make it richer tasting.
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