Chicken Parmigiana

I loved reading through Elly Says Opa's Eat to the Beat entries. 

They brought music and food together 

in  such clever and delicious ways! 

This "Mambo Italiano" Chicken Parm really caught my eye because 

1) it looked scrumptious, 

2) the directions are actually pretty simple and 

3) Mambo Italiano is such a fun song. Hit play and read on!

We made this for roommate dinner night 

and served it with salad and spaghetti.

We used tomato sauce and seasonings because 

it's what we had on hand, but you could also 

use homemade marinara or store bought spaghetti sauce. 

What You'll Need:
(serves 4)4 boneless chicken breasts, pounded thin (butterfly first if necessary)
2 cups Italian bread crumbs
salt and pepper
2 eggs, beaten (add about a tablespoon of water to thin them out)
extra virgin olive oil
1 can tomato sauce (14oz- 16 oz)
seasonings: basil, oregano, garlic, salt, pepper
fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced 
grated pecorino romano cheese
fresh parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly sprinkle chicken cutlets with salt and pepper, then dip in egg, followed by bread crumbs.  Shake off excess and set aside. 

Heat oil in a large skillet.  Add chicken (do not crowd the pan) and turn after brown on one side.  Brown other side and remove from pan.  Continue until all chicken is cooked.  Place on paper towel lined plate to drain excess oil.

Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of 9x13 pan.  Add chicken, then top with mozzarella and more tomato sauce. Season generously with Italian seasoning; basil, oregano, and garlic; or whatever seasonings you prefer.  Sprinkle some pecorino romano on top.  It's okay if you need to stack some chicken on top of each other...just make sure each piece is covered with cheese and sauce.

Bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until cheese and sauce are bubbling (check after 20-25 minutes).  Top with fresh parsley and serve.

The fresh mozzarella is a stand out in the dish. 

It can be a little pricey but we got ours at half price 

from the deli counter because it was close to the sell by date. 

If you're shopping for this dish day-of, 

I'd definitely recommend checking for this!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!