Chicken & Zucchini Parmesan

Long break! Sorry! I've been getting everything back on track this week, and I've also been repeating some recipes, so not too much new to post :).

So, I kind of made this up, kind of drew from other recipes. It was an experiment that tasted great, but also failed.

I thought I could encrust the chicken and zucchini with grated parmesan cheese and fry it in a half inch of oil, but that didn't work AT ALL. The cheese got all melty and fell off, despite an eggwash to hold it on. While it became deliciously crunchy, it didn't work. I will spare you that part of the recipe.

Ingredients:

3 zucchini, sliced
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Olive oil
1-2 cups of finely grated parmesan cheese
Salt & pepper to taste
2-3 cups of marinara sauce

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish.

Place about 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Salt and pepper the zucchini and fry in the oil until browned on each side. This is NOT to cook the zucchini through, so it should be only a couple of minutes on each side at the most.



Drain the zucchini on some paper towels, and then place them in a single layer at the bottom of the casserole dish. Cover with 1 cup of marinara sauce (at least) and half of the parmesan cheese.


Salt & pepper the chicken. Using the same oil, fry the chicken over medium-high heat until browned on both sides, a few minutes each. Once more, this is not to cook the chicken through, just to give it a crust.

*You can see the failure all over those chicken breasts.*

Place the chicken on top of the zucchini in the casserole and cover with the rest of the sauce and cheese.


Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is bubbly and browned.


It's a really simple recipe and, while not perfect, it sure does taste good!

If you need a really basic marinara sauce recipe, I use 1 onion, chopped, 4 cloves of garlic, and 2 or 3 cups of whole Italian tomatoes. Cook the onion and garlic in a tablespoon of oil until cooked through (I like the flavor of letting them brown a bit) and then add the tomatoes. Allow that to cook over low heat for 30 minutes, then toss in a handful of fresh torn basil leaves. Cook another 5-10 minutes. Blend together in a processor or blender and season with salt, pepper, and a tablespoon of sugar or Splenda. Tadaaaa, basic marinara!