Emma Rogers and Tyson Bird are junior journalism majors who write "Dinner for 2ish" for the Daily News. Their views do not necessarily agree with those of the paper.
We started cooking together in the summer of 2015 and have planned and cooked a dinner every week since. Our recipes are often inspired by the New York Times’ cooking website but are adapted to fit Muncie availability and a college budget. Chicken parm is one of our favorites and can easily make a lot or a little, depending on chicken quantity.
Chicken parmesan
Estimated cost per serving: $2.08
| Ingredients bought for this recipe | Ingredients we had on-hand |
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Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Split the chicken breasts in half. This is an optional step if your chicken is pretty thin or you use “breast tenders”, but keep in mind that leaving the chicken thicker will lengthen cooking time. Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides.
2. Place 1/2 cup of flour, 2 eggs and 1 cup of breadcrumbs into three separate plates. Bread the chicken by coating it on both sides first in the flour, then egg and breadcrumbs.
3. Once the chicken is breaded, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the breaded chicken for 3-5 minutes on each side, until the breading has browned. It’s ok if the chicken isn’t cooked all the way through — it will finish in the oven. Add more oil as you cook more chicken if the pan seems to be dry and you smell the breadcrumbs burning instead of toasting.
4. Place a layer of sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. Place the chicken in a single layer and top with mozzarella. Depending on the size of your dish and quantity of chicken, you can add more sauce and more chicken to create a second layer. Usually, we just do one layer.
5. Top the chicken/cheese stack with sauce and place in the oven for 30-40 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the chicken is cooked through. During the last five minutes of baking, sprinkle about 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese over the entire dish and continue to bake until this gets melty.
6. We ate the chicken parmesan with pasta this time, but it is excellent on its own or paired with a salad. If you are vegetarian, this recipe can become eggplant parmesan by using eggplant instead of chicken and sautéing for a couple of minutes longer.
Hungry for more? Cook your way through the Dinner for 2ish series:
Spinach stuffed shells | Etouffee | Spaghetti squash | Gyros and fries
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