1-2 jar(s) (32 oz) spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, lightly pounded until uniformly thin (or sliced in half)
4 slices provolone or mozzarella cheese (or grated cheese works just fine too)
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.* Spread 1/2 of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a 9x12 pan. Set aside. Mix bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in shallow bowl. Dredge (coat) chicken in flour first, then egg, then the bread crumb mixture. Pour approx 1/2 cup oil (I use olive oil) in skillet. Warm oil until hot, but not smoking. The oil will be ready when it ripples in the pan. Brown chicken on each side. Pat with paper towel and transfer to baking dish with sauce. To each piece of chicken, add 2 T. spaghetti sauce. (I like more sauce, so I use more sauce :) Place in oven and bake uncovered until chicken is tender (approx 30 minutes). Remove from oven and place cheese slices (or grated cheese, remember?) on top of the chicken while it is hot. Serve immediately over your choice of noodles.
*I have altered the cooking method of this particular recipe from time to time. In other words, don't want to use your oven? Don't. This recipe works well in a dutch oven, or my favorite - the pressure cooker.
If using a dutch oven, the directions are the same, except you are cooking outside (you can't use your dutch oven inside, unless of course you put it in the oven, but that defeats the purpose of not using your oven.)
To prepare in a pressure cooker, follow directions up until the baking part. You can't bake it in the pressure cooker. It will scorch. Not that I know or anything. Ahem!
Anyway, you brown the chicken like you normally would and instead of putting it in a pan and putting it in the oven, you put the pieces of chicken in the basket of your pressure cooker and put the basket on your trivet (hopefully your cooker came with one of those). Add about 1/2 cup of water and process at 15 lbs pressure for 10 minutes. If you have a ton of time, let the pressure come down naturally, the chicken will be a bit more tender. If not, switch that puppy to the 'let pressure the out now' feature and voila. Add the spaghetti sauce (you'll want to warm it first. I don't think you'll want it straight out of the can) serve immediately.
If you don't have a pressure cooker, you need one. Tell your husband that needs to be your next gift. If you need suggestions...let me know.
