4 full chicken breasts (will pound and slice down to make 8)
1 c. marinara sauce (I give you my easy homemade one below)
1/2 c. grated parmigiana cheese
1/2 c. fresh or grated Mozzarella cheese
1/8 c. fresh basil
8 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 c. milk
1 egg
8 T. butter
We start out by prepping the chicken. This step might be the most important, as it is the star of the dish after all :) Placing plastic wrap on your counter, lay the chicken breasts out and slice long ways in half. Cover them in plastic wrap and pound the breasts super thin. This will make the chicken tender and delicious! Lightly salt the chicken.
In a sauce pan, add a jar of the Mutti puree. I've tried every canned/jarred sauce out there. This one is the best, hands down. Add a little sauce, a little pepper. You can also add a splash of wine and a handful of basil. Simmer on low for about 20-25 minutes (while you're prepping the rest of the dish) and it's perfectly delicious!
In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and egg.
Place the Italian Nut Crumbs on a plate. If you want the "breading" to be extra special, add some parmesan cheese and mix before coating! Drench each piece of chicken in the egg mixture and then fully coat in the crumbs. *I only add half of the Nut Crumbs to the plate at a time, and swap out half way through so they don't get too soggy too quickly from the milk mixture.
In a non-stick or well seasoned cast iron pan, add half your olive oil and 4 T of butter. This is important, because you will have to swap out your oil and butter half way through cooking the chicken for the best results. Otherwise the oil and crumbs start to have a burnt taste to them. Heat the pan to a medium heat and add no more than 3 breasts to the pan. Cook for about 2 min on one side and flip the chicken over, using a fork. Cook for another minute and move to a baking dish. You can cook another set of breasts in the same oil/butter, but I never cook more than two rounds in the butter and oil. Depending on how many people I'm cooking for, this can mean lots of butter and oil...it's worth it through! Once the second round is cooked, dump out oil and butter and wipe pan with a paper towel. Add new butter and oil and wait until it's hot to resume cooking the chicken.
Once the chicken is all cooked and in a baking dish, I add a small pad of butter on each piece of chicken, cover in my sauce, and then add a generous helping of both mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
Pop in a hot oven at 350 degrees and cook for 15-20 minutes. During the last few minutes you can turn the broiler on high to brown your cheese a bit. Don't forget about it, because it goes from brown and bubbly to burnt real quick!
I serve this chicken alongside our Penne Vodka recipe and crusty garlic bread.
It's so yummy...you'll want to invite your friends over to share!
Enjoy :)