Chicken Parmesan

I love chicken parmesan!  I realized I had not posted my recipe, so here it is.  You may find it strange that I add lemon zest and juice to the chicken, but it is so subtle and just brightens the flavor.  It is a background taste that would make you say, "what is that?"  Anyway, pretty easy, involves some pots and pans, but that prep clean up is done by the time the chicken is out of the oven, so it is minimal clean-up after dinner.  Enjoy!

CHICKEN PARMESAN

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 large chicken breast (about 2 lbs.), halved and pounded thin
• 2 eggs beaten well
• 2/3 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup pecorino romano (parm) cheese (the real stuff, no green can!)
• zest of half a lemon
• juice half lemon
• couple TBSP white wine for deglazing
• 1 TBSP good olive oil
• 1 TBSp butter
• 1 cup prepared spaghetti sauce (homemade or jarred)
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 cup coarsely shredded parmesan

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350. In a shallow bowl, whisk eggs.  In another shallow bowl, mix 1/3 cup pecorino cheese, bread crumbs and zest of lemon.  Cut chicken in half, by thickness (should be about same size, just thinner).  Put in between plastic wrap and take out some aggression, pounding it thin.  Dredge in eggs, then in bread crumb mixture.  Place on plate. 
Place large nonstick skillet on stove over med.-high heat and drizzle live oil and about 1 TBSP butter.  Place chicken in skillet and let sit for about 5-7 minutes.  You want a nice crust, don't pick at it too much.  Turn chicken over when browned and cook on other side until browned (It does not need to be cooked through, it will finish cooking in the oven.)  Squeeze half of a lemon over chicken and deglaze pan with a little wine to loosen the chicken.

You want that nice brown color.  The bread crumbs will be crisp.

Spray large baking pan with cooking spray or grease with olive oil and place chicken on pan.  Spread sauce over each piece of chicken then top with about a TBSP of parmesan and some mozzarella. Bake for about 20 minutes, until cheese is melted and chicken cooked through.  Serve with pasta.