I have to start by saying that this recipe is completely mouth watering and totally worth the effort you put into it. That being said, after completing it after one busy Thursday I realize that three simple lessons were learned:
1. Never complete all three of the following cooking tasks in one (week night) evening: dredging, frying, and baking. Pick 1, or 2, but never all 3. Save 3 for weekend cooking, preferably lazy Sundays.
2. To go hand in hand with the above, never complete all three cooking tasks right after your home is visited by the cleaning crew. It’s just not worth it for your kitchen to go from spic and span to you kind of wanting to cry over the mess you made.
3. ‘Real Simple’ is not always real simple. I’m in love with their magazine, their recipes, and just their general awesomeness. Yet this recipe references 15 minutes of prep time and 40 minutes total and unless you have a sous chef on permanent staff, I’m sorry, but that is not the case.
Lucky for me M worked from home that day and played the role of stay at home dad so while he was off to T-Ball practice I had a quiet kitchen to myself to make the bubbly mess you see above. Our appetites must have been worked up as we each finished a whole piece and 1/2. Completely worth the effort and mess.
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 cup panko crumbs, or regular bread crumbs (I used panko for crunch!)
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 8 small chicken cutlets
- salt & pepper
- 3 TBS olive oil, plus more for frying
- 1 24 ounce jar marinara sauce
- 1 lbs fresh mozzarella, sliced
- Heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Place flour and eggs in separate shallow bowls. In a third shallow bowl, combine the bread crumbs and parmesan. Season the chicken with salt & pepper.
- Get a large skillet going on medium high heat with the oil. Coat with the flour (tapping off excess), dip in the eggs (shaking off excess), then coat with the bread crumb mixture, pressure gently to help adhere and into the skillet it goes for 3 minutes a side. Repeat with all the cutlets adding more oil to the skillet if necessary. (It will be).
- Pour your marinara sauce in a large shallow baking dish. Nestle the chicken in the sauce and top with mozzarella and additional parmesan. Bake until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown - roughly 20-25 minutes.
Serve over pasta. It’s tradition! Also pairs well with M’s green beans.