Skillet Chicken Parmesan

I am finally back to my blogging (yay, yay, yay..happy dance)! I finally have the kitchen of my dreams after living in my dumpy old kitchen that has remained EXACTLY the same as when it was built in the late 60’s. It was ugly in a million different ways. Now I love being in my kitchen. I happily spend plrnty of time there everyday. I love, love, love it!! I have been happily cooking to my hearts content. This is a recipe that I found on the net a while back, but have finally tried it out. I made a few changes to lighten things up and made the chicken tender and juicy by slow cooking it.

Here is the original recipe:

Skillet Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise to make 6 thinner chicken cutlets
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons canola oil
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup shredded provolone or sharp provolone cheese
Hot spaghetti noodles for serving
Directions
In a medium bowl, combine the garlic, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, oregano, basil, sugar, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Set aside.
In a large 12-inch skillet, heat the canola oil over medium heat until rippling and hot. Thoroughly dry the chicken pieces and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Place the flour in a shallow dish and dredge the seasoned chicken pieces in the flour, coating both sides. Gently place 3-4 of the chicken pieces in the hot oil and cook for 3 minutes and then flip and cook 3 minutes longer until a nice golden crust has formed on the chicken (they’ll continue to cook in a later step). Remove the chicken to a plate and continue with the remaining pieces, removing them to the plate when they have been browned.
Wipe the skillet of excess oil and pour the sauce contents in the bowl into the skillet, taking care of splatters if the skillet is still piping hot. Turn the heat to medium and gently nestle the pieces of browned chicken into the sauce, making room for all six chicken breast cutlets. The chicken should be mostly covered with the sauce. Cover the skillet and simmer the sauce and chicken on medium or medium low for 15 minutes, checking every few minutes to make sure the chicken isn’t sticking to the bottom of the skillet. If so, turn the heat down a bit.
Uncover the skillet, sprinkle the mozzarella, provolone and remaining Parmesan cheese over the chicken and sauce. Cover and cook for five more minutes, or until cheese is nicely melted.
Serve over hot spaghetti noodles, if desired.

Here are my changes:

I pounded my meat so that it was about 1/2″ thick and after I added the chicken to the sauce I simmered it at a really low setting for about 30 to 45 minutes (or even longer). I did check the chicken a few times to make sure it wasn’t sticking. By cooking it low and slow I kept the chicken tender.

I opted to not add the parm to the sauce. Instead I topped individual pieces of chicken with just a little bit of parm, mozzarella, and provolone for the last five minutes of cooking. By doing it this way I cut way back on the amount of cheese used in the recipe.

I served the chicken over some whole wheat pasta and the family loved it.