Today was a day where I needed some comfort food. I had a good day, until I went for a walk with my dog who loves to chase after animals. Normally I can keep her contained but today out of the blue she pulled and went across the ditch, which means I went across the ditch. All I wanted was a nice peaceful walk, instead I got wet shoes and a heart attack. With all that said her walk was unfortunately short and I was ready for supper.

This recipe takes a little bit of time, and if you are like me it might be a little bit of a mess. Do not worry though it is a delicious recipe that anyone can make! The chicken is juicy and the Italian flavor in the marinara works wonderful and the cheese tops it off perfectly. If you want, you can take a shortcut and use jarred marinara sauce but its so much tastier to make your own. The marinara needs to simmer for about 40 minutes to let the seasonings all meld together and thicken.

The chicken should be pounded down to ½ inch so that it cooks faster and is also tender. The chicken needs to get dredged in flour, eggs, and parmesan cheese. Prep the flour with salt on one large plate. Whisk the eggs, milk and salt and pepper together in a large bowl. On another plate spread out the parmesan. First, pat dry the chicken with paper towels, then dredge in flour, next egg, and then into parmesan cheese.

Heat a cast iron skillet with some olive oil on medium heat. Once heated, place one chicken breast at a time and cook for 2 minutes on one side and turn and cook 2 more minutes on the other side, or until golden brown. Place into a 9×13 pan and cover with marinara sauce and then with provolone cheese. Cover with tin foil and place in oven at 350°F for 20 minutes, uncover and then cook another 5-10 minutes or until chicken reaches 165°F.

Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts, thawed, pounded

2 eggs

¼ cup milk

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

½ cup flour

½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup parmesan, grated

4 Tablespoons olive oil

8 thinly sliced provolone cheese squares

Marinara:

2 (14.5 ounces) cans diced tomatoes

4 Tablespoons olive oil

½ onion, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons garlic, minced

1 teaspoon oregano, dried

1 teaspoon parsley

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon basil leaves

Direction:

1. First, get started on the marinara sauce, start with cutting up the onion into thin slices. In saucepan, heat the oil, onion, and garlic together for 3 minutes. Add in the rest of the ingredients: tomatoes, oregano, parsley, salt, pepper, and basil. Simmer on medium low, stirring occasionally for 45 minutes.
2. While the sauce is cooking start on the chicken. Pound the chicken to ½ inch thick. This can be done with a meat mallet or a heavy cast iron pan, with the chicken placed in between plastic wrap.
3. Preheat the oven to 350° On a large plate mix the flour and salt together. On a second large plate put the grated parmesan cheese. In a large dish whisk the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper together. Once the chicken is pounded, pat dry with paper towels, dredge in flour, then egg and next in the parmesan.
4. Heat cast iron skillet with olive oil on medium heat, place chicken in one at a time. Cook the chicken one at a time for 2 minutes on both sides or until golden.
5. Place the done chicken in a 9×13 pan, top the chicken with marinara, place two provolone slices on each chicken. Cover with tinfoil and place in oven, let cook for 20 minutes, uncover, and cook for another 5-10 minutes or until chicken temperature reaches 165°
6. Eat!

Makes 6 servings

*If you want you can make it into a salad by placing the chicken on a bed of baby arugula. It also can be made into a sandwich with a brioche bun.