Chicken Parmesan

I must admit, Keely has become quite the cook, and she is fearless about trying new recipes. I love that! She spoils Max with Chicken Parmesan, his favorite, and often serves it to her guests. I'm grateful that she agreed to make it for me and my cousin Fred who was visiting from Texas last week. Not surprisingly, it lived up to its reputation. I honestly haven't had any better. It's sooooo good. 

Keely's Chicken Parmesan

To begin, prepare your chicken by pounding it with a meat mallet. Don't have one? No worries. I didn't either. Instead, we used a large rubber mallet covered with plastic wrap. Problem solvers. That's us. :) Next, season both sides with Paula Deen's seasoning and then sprinkle with flour.

Preparing the Chicken

Now dip the prepared chicken into beaten eggs, followed by a bread crumb/Parmesan cheese mixture. 

A side benefit: this recipe calls for an air fryer, so it's lower in calories than other versions. If you don't have one, this recipe alone is worth getting one! In fact, Keely has said more than once that it's her favorite kitchen appliance. Period. "Fry" both sides for approximately 2-3 minutes each.

Keely's favorite kitchen appliance is the air fryer!

Although the chicken is "fried," the last step calls for baking it in the oven. First, though, top it with marinara sauce, Italian seasoning, a little more shredded Parmesan cheese, and lastly a slice of Provolone cheese.

Once baked, serve it on top of spaghetti covered with additional marinara sauce. Enjoy!

(Note that this recipe can easily be made gluten-free, which is how Keely makes it. Simply replace the flour, bread crumbs, and spaghetti noodles with gluten-free alternatives.) 


Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:

• 3 chicken breasts
• Paula Deen's seasoning (salt, pepper, garlic powder) to taste
• Approximately 6 tablespoons of regular flour (Use Cup4Cup if gluten-free.)
• 2 eggs
• 1 heaping cup Panko bread crumbs (Or use gluten-free Panko.)
• 1/2 heaping cup shredded Parmesan cheese, plus a little more for topping
• 1 to 1.5 jars of marinara sauce (Keely prefers Rao's.)
• Italian seasoning to taste
• 3 slices Provolone cheese
• Spaghetti noodles (Use Barilla if gluten-free.)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Pound chicken breasts with a meat mallet to the thickness of approximately 1/3 inch and then season both sides with Paula Deen's seasoning.
3. Sprinkle/dust flour on both sides of the chicken breasts (approximately 1 tablespoon for each side) and lightly pat down to make sure it's a light, even coating.
4. Beat eggs in a shallow bowl.
5. In a separate bowl, combine bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.
6. Dip flour coated chicken breasts into beaten eggs. Transfer breasts to bread crumb mixture, pressing the crumbs into both sides. Repeat for all breasts.
7. Put air fryer on highest setting (mine is 390 degrees). Spray Pam on air fryer basket to avoid sticking. Cook breast for 2-3 minutes, flip and then repeat.
8. Place cooked chicken in a baking dish that has been lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with Pam. Top each breast with about 1/3 cup of marinara sauce. Sprinkle Italian seasoning on top of the sauce and breast. Lightly top with shredded Parmesan cheese. Top with a slice of Provolone cheese.
9. Bake at 450 degrees approximately 15-20 minutes until cheese is browned and bubbly and the chicken breasts are no longer pink inside. (165 using a meat thermometer) 
10. Serve over spaghetti noodles (cooked according to directions) and topped with additional heated marinara sauce.