Chicken Parmesan... It's what's for dinner at our home tonight!
There are soooooo many recipes for this family favorite dish but I thought I'd share what I do to prepare this yummy meal for my family. Feel free to put your own spin on this dish by adding or taking away any ingredients you'd like. You can serve this along with a side salad and garlic bread, over pasta or have pasta on the side OR all by itself :-). Enjoy!

Quick & Simple Chicken Parmesan

• 4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts (sliced in halves to make 8)
• 2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs (store brought or make your own)
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk (optional)
• 1 24 oz jar of your favorite pasta sauce (or make your own)
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of Shredded Cheese Blend
• Olive or Vegetable Oil for frying
• Salt/Pepper/Italian Seasoning/Dried Parsley/Garlic Powder/Onion Powder (I put a pinch of these seasonings into my homemade bread crumbs)

Instructions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Boil your pasta and drain.
3. In the bottom of your baking dish spread a thin layer of sauce & cooked pasta and set aside.
4. Place the chicken in a zip-lock bag or between wax paper. Pound it out until even. (this is not necessary but I do it, sometimes). Season Chicken with a little salt and pepper.
5. Mix the egg and milk in a shallow bowl. (if cooking without milk, just scramble 2 eggs in a bowl)
6. Add the bread crumbs to a bowl (add seasonings listed above if making homemade bread crumbs).
7. Cover bottom of frying pan with oil and heat until hot.
8.  Dip the chicken in the egg then the bread crumbs. Fry on both sides until brown. (You do not need to cook them all the way through)
9. Place the chicken onto a plate with paper towels to drain the grease.
10. Place the chicken into the baking pan on top of the cooked pasta and sauce.
11. Pour half of the sauce over each piece of chicken.
12. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
13. After 20 minutes, remove the foil and add the cheese, sprinkle on parsley flakes. Bake uncovered for about 15 more minutes or until the cheese is melted.
14. Serve with remaining sauce, a side salad and garlic bread… ENJOY!

Stuffed Peppers-- Healthy Version :-)

Last night, I revised my stuffed pepper recipe and made a healthier version of it. I normally just eye every ingredient and make mental notes of what I put in it. However, I've had a few requests and the meal was such a hit, that I want to keep it in rotation. Here's a recipe that I put together from what I can remember from my metal notes. Give it a try and ENJOY!!!

 

Stuffed Peppers

• 1 lb of lean ground turkey

• 1/2 cup of chopped onions, red/yellow/green peppers (I buy them already chopped and frozen by PictSweet…. You can find them in the frozen vegetable section at wal mart, food lion and etc…)

• 1 can of organic crushed tomatoes (any brand…. I used Hunts I think)

• 1/2 jar of organic pasta sauce (I make my own but will buy Prego or Ragu onion/tomato/garlic brand in a time crunch and it taste GREAT)

• Multi-Grain Medley (this is the healthier version in place of white rice… It comes in a box made by Minute Rice with 4 pre-portioned bags… I used only 1 bag for this meal… it is a mixture of brown rice, red rice, wild rice and quinoa… it is 100% whole grain and gluten free)

• seasonings… 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, a dash of sugar, a few dashes of salt and black pepper

• fat free cheese OR any shredded cheese on top… you don’t really need to keep it fat free since you’ll only use a little on each pepper 

• Green Bell Peppers (4-6... for this recipe, I used 4 peppers cut in half for a total of 8 stuffed peppers)

Directions

• Boil the rice per the directions, set it aside in a large mixing bowl once it’s cooked.

• Cook your ground turkey in a pan with a little extra virgin olive oil (or whatever oil you prefer)

• Drain your turkey and return it to the stove

• Add in the chopped onions and peppers until they cook for about 3-5 minutes

• Add in your seasonings (garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper)

• Add your can of crushed tomatoes, sauce and a little sugar to bring out the flavors

• Let it cook for about 5-7 minutes

• Pour your meat mixture into the mixing bowl with the muti grain medley… Combine them all together until you get your desired consistency. You don’t want it to be too runny because it will run out of the peppers when it cooks.

• Wash your peppers, slice them in half and clean out the seeds…

• Stuff the peppers with the mixture and place them into a large baking pan

• Top them with shredded cheese, loosely cover them with foil and bake them for 30 minutes on 400-425 degrees

• Take the foil off and bake them for 5 more minutes until the cheese melts

• Let them cool for 10 minutes and INDULGE!!!