Chicken Parmesan

I've made 1 "new" recipe since the baby was born and it was out of desperation that this meal was made.  We were seriously low on food and "easy" meals after our families left, so I had to start thinking outside of the box... which meant it was time for me to get back in the kitchen.  This was the same night we went to the grocery store after our families left so I knew if it was a bust - we could always pick up something easy at the store later : )

Happy to report - it wasn't a bust.  It was really good!  This was one of those meals where I said to myself "I can't believe I had everything I needed for this all along in the cupboard/freezer".  So here it is - worth a try - I promise!

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs beaten
• 4 chicken boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 jar of pasta sauce
• 4 slices of mozzarella cheese
  1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
  1 cup of panko bread crumbs (you can get Italian, but I prefer the plain and do my own seasoning)
  1 box of spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine noodles
• Seasonings used with breadcrumbs - no measurements, I just do it to taste and eyeball it (I know... so unlike me!): basil, oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper, onion powder, and a few TBSP of the Parmesan cheese
• Garlic bread or toast - we like the texas toast light garlic bread.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Mix seasonings - to taste - into breadcrumbs in shallow bowl.
3. Pour beaten eggs into a small shallow bowl.  Dip chicken into egg, then into the bread crumbs. Place coated chicken on cookie cooling stand on top of a cookie sheet if you have one.  It will help the breadcrumbs and chicken stay crispier.  If not, place directly on a greased cookie sheet.  Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until no longer pink and juices run clear.
4. Pour 1/2 of the spaghetti sauce into a baking dish. Place chicken over sauce, and cover with remaining sauce. Place one slice of mozzarella on each breast and sprinkle remaining Parmesan cheese on top. Return to the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
5. While the chicken is cooking for the last 20 minutes, prepare pasta noodles and garlic bread according to package directions.  
6. Serve one chicken breast over small portion of noodles.  Spoon extra sauce from baking dish onto each side of noodles and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Serve with 1 slice of bread. 

Makes 4 servings
3 more "new" meals are on the docket for the upcoming 2 weeks... hope to blog about those by the end of January : )