Chicken Parmigiana and Five Minute Tomato Sauce

So, I left for work this morning, not knowing what I was going to have for dinner. I hate that feeling. Really, wheneverI get a moment throughout the day, I think about what I'm going to have for dinner. I was paging through 3 or 4 cookbooks when I ate breakfast, and saw the recipe for Chicken Parmigiana. I thought to myself, "well, maybe". But in typical Hungry Teacher fashion, I was indecisive. Well, sometime after school, I made up my mind and stopped at the grocery store on the way home.


This recipe is so good! It tastes amazing, and is not too much work. You must try making the homemade tomato sauce. It is sooo delicious and honestly takes 5 minutes to cook.

Chicken Parmigiana

(from Great Food Fast)

Serves 4
3/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 chicken cutlets or 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, halved horizontally (about 1-1/2 cups)
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 cups of 5 Minute Tomato Sauce (see recipe below)
1/4 cup olive oil
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, preferably fresh, cut into eight 1/4-inch-thick slices
Heat the broiler. Combine the breadcrumbs and the Parmesan in a shallow bowl. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Dip the chicken in the beaten egg, then dredge in the breadcrumb mixture, turning to coat both sides.
Spread the tomato sauce onto the bottom of a 10x15 inch baking dish (I used a 9x13 pan, but the chicken really has to be crammed in). Heat 2 Tbsp. of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place 4 chicken cutlets in the skillet; cook until golden (1-2 minutes on each side). Transfer the browned chicken cutlets to the baking dish, placing them on top of the sauce. Repeat with the remaining oil and chicken cutlets.

Top each cutlet with a slice of mozzarella. Broil about 4 inches under the heat until the sauce is hot and the cheese is melted and lightly browned in spots, 5 to 8 minutes. Serve immediately.
Leftovers are great heated up for lunch the next day. Yum!
David Rocco's Mom's Five-Minute Tomato Sauce

I adapted this recipe from David Rocco's Dolce Vita. This is a wonderful, Italian-Canadian cookbook. The book is simply gorgeous and David's writing is interesting and fantastic.
Makes about 4 cups, enough for 4 servings of pasta
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
Chili pepper flakes, to taste (optional)
1 can (28 oz/796 mL) tomato puree or plum tomatoes ( I used diced tomatoes today. If you crush them up with a spoon a bit as you are making this recipe, it turns out just fine!)
Salt, to taste
Heat up olive oil and brown the garlic a bit. Add some chili flakes if you want a little extra heat (a delicious option in my opinion). Add tomato puree and some salt and let simmer for 5 minutes. If you have fresh basil (sigh, I cannot wait until summer!), tear some up and throw it in.
By the way, if you use this sauce for the Chicken Parmigiana, you will have 2 cups of sauce left over. You can freeze it (for around 4 months) or refrigerate it (for 4-5 days) and use it for something else. I had some extra tomato puree in my freezer and I threw it into the sauce. It turned out great!
Enjoy!

The Hungry Teacher