beach nibbles and nosh: parm chicken with company 10

so chicken parmesan is one of those dishes that i think everyone (non-vegetarian) can enjoy. i know since i first had it i've enjoyed it everywhere. and now we have a great "healthy" recipe to make it an even more (guilt-free) enjoyable meal. we made this when our friend ally came over for dinner and she enjoyed it as well. 6 thumbs up!

from martha's everyday food jan/feb 2007

light chicken parmesan

serves 4, prep: 20m, total: 35m

ingredients:

2 sliced whole wheat bread torn into pieces

1T grated parmesan

1t olive oil

course salt and ground pepper

2T all purpose flour

1 large egg white

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (6-8oz ea)

3/4c part skim shredded part-skim mozerella (3oz)

28oz can whole peeled tomatoes in puree couldn't find em in puree so ours were in juice

1 minced garlic clove

what to do:

1. preheat oven 425 with rack in upper third. line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. in a food proscessor or a hand blender chopping attachment, place bread, parmesan, oil and pinch of salt and pepper. pulse until coarse crumbs form; transfer to shallow bowl. place flour in second shallow bowl & season with salt & pepper. place egg white in 3rd shallow bowl and beat until frothy.

2. dip top of a chicken breast in flour shaking off excess. dip same side in egg white, letting excess drip off, then in bread crumbs, pressing to adhere. (don't bread other side.) repeat with remaining chicken and transfer, breaded side up, to prepared baking sheet. bake until breadcrumbs are crisp and browned, 8-10m. remove from oven and sprinkle with mozerella. continue baking until chicken is opaque and cheese is lightly browned; 2-4m.

3. meanwhile, in a large skillet, place tomatoes, breaking them up with your fingers. i never understand why you buy whole tomatoes and then break them up. why not buy them diced? someone please educate me. add garlic; season with salt & pepper. bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until sauce has thickened, 6-8m. serve chicken with a generous amount of tomatoe sauce.

this was an amazing meal. tom made most all of it and entertained our guest while i drank wine and made dinner plans for later in the week with another couple from school. on interest here; we only had 3 breasts and they were HUGE! really thick and fat all around. so our portions were enormous. and on the side tom re-heated some of our spinach pesto from the other night which was a beautiful and delicous side to round out the meal and make the plate look really pretty. he also suggested using a slotted spoon for the tomatoes because we ended up with "ugly" juice on our plates. i didn't mind, but i guess he didn't like the presentation of the meal he slaved over. or maybe just don't add all the juice from the tomatoes. we cooked it down forever and the juice never really went away so it's just a mystery. or we did it wrong. in any case, it tasted fabulously and ally rbought a delish wine that i have to get the name of. keep eating...