2 lbs boneless, skinless, pastured, chicken breast
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 TBSP dried basil
1 TBSP dried oregano
1 TBSP dried parsley
pure salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 cups (give or take) marinara sauce
fresh mozzarella cheese to taste
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Lightly coat a 9 x 13 baking dish with butter
- Shred the parmesan cheese (a food processor is convenient for this).
- Combine the parm with the dried herbs in a shallow bowl.
- Beat the egg in a separate shallow bowl.
- Dip each piece of chicken into the egg, then into the parmesan mixture until well coated.
- Add the chicken pieces to the buttered baking pan, sprinkle with salt & freshly ground black pepper, and cook for roughly 25 minutes (give or take, depending on the thickness of your chicken).
- Remove from oven (but keep the heat on), dollop sauce over each piece of chicken, add a layer of mozzarella cheese, and a bit more sauce over the top.
- Return to oven and bake for an additional 5 – 8 minutes – until the cheese is melted.
Enjoy!
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SIDE NOTES:
~ This is a delicious and simple way to prepare chicken. I almost always have a few mason jars of marinara sauce in the freezer which makes it even easier.
~ For the best flavor, I recommend picking up a hunk of what’s considered the king of parmesan cheese: parmigiano-reggiano (deli section). It’s in a class of its own.
~ This time, I used 2 lbs of chicken strips (instead of breasts) because that’s what I happened to have in the freezer. I thought it would be a little annoying to prepare this way (with such small strips), but it was actually easier and faster. Instead of dipping in one chicken breast at a time, I put the entire 2 lbs of chicken into the bowl with the egg, and used my hands to combine well. Then I transferred it all directly to the cheese mixture, and used a large spoon to toss until all the chicken was coated with cheese. Then I simply dumped it all into my buttered baking dish.
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Margaret Fallon
