Monday Menu ~ Easy Chicken Parmesan

Here is a very, very easy dinner to make, that tastes so great...and makes great left-overs for lunch the next day.  This is ridiculously easy, measurements are approximate so you can't really mess it up, your house smells good enough to call yourself Italian, and I have never served this to someone that didn't really love it.

Alex walked in after a very rigorous cross country work out, looked at what was smelling so good, and said in a very tired voice, "Oh, thanks, mom."  THAT is an endorsement!

Adjust all the amounts for however much you need or want to make.  This is what I did for my big-eating family of five, and I have enough left for 2 lunches.

Easy Chicken Parmesan

4 chicken breasts (place between 2 sheets of waxed paper and pound to about 1-inch thick)
1/2 cup flour
3 eggs plus some salt and pepper, beaten together with a fork
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
olive oil

1 jar Spaghetti sauce

sliced mozzarella or monterey jack

spaghetti noodles

Place flour on a sheet of waxed paper.  Next to that, beat eggs, salt and pepper in a dish big enough to dip your chicken (pie plate or 8x8 dish).  Next to that, place bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese on a sheet of waxed paper and mix together well.  (In the picture, mine is in a dish.  Do it in a dish if you want.  I just wished I had saved washing another dish, but had already dumped it in.  Whatever works.)

if your chicken looks anorexic and all beat up, it's perfect

In a large skillet (is it a skillet?  that word looks funny to me today.  just use a big, flat good-for-frying pan).  Anyway, in that, heat some olive oil...enough to well-coat the bottom plus a little extra for when you flip your chicken.

my little dipping/coating station

Take one of your pounded thin chicken breasts, coat each side in your flour, then dip each side in your egg mixture, then coat each side in the bread crumb/Parmesan mixture.  Repeat with another chicken breasts.  Add to the hot oil, and cook for 3-4 minutes per side.  Repeat with remaining chicken breasts, adding more olive oil between batches as needed.

trust me, it tastes so much better than it looks!

While chicken is cooking, cook noodles as directed on package.

In a large, rimmed baking sheet, pour out spaghetti sauce.  Place cooked chicken breasts on top of sauce in pan.  Add a layer of cheese (I prefer monterey jack, but go all authentic and use mozzarella if that's your thing).

again, better than it looks.

Preheat broiler.  Place pan under broiler and cook for a few minutes until the cheese is bubbling and browning.

To serve (I got all excited to eat and didn't take a picture of the final thing), put a pile of noodles on the plate and top with a chicken breast and some sauce.  Most of us in the family only eat a half chicken breast, so that's where you'll get the left overs.  I mean, really...look how huge those are!

Yum.  Yum.  Yum.  All thumbs up from this family!!