Chicken "Parmesan"

I am sure that I have told you before, but Hubs is a HUGE Italian fan. I swear in a previous life he was a fat happy Italian man in a little town in southern Italy. When he started dating me, I think he got a little deprived of his true Italian meals. I have since learned how to please both myself and him with my Italian cooking. For today's post, I have taken the traditional chicken parmesan and lightened it up and made it gluten free and dairy free. I did, however, allow Hubs to have real cheese (I mean he deserves it). 

I am determined to keep my grocery store trips to a minimum during the week. I am meal planning and saving money! What I didn't consider, is putting all the groceries away! Oh my goodness that was a task. Those of you that know me know I am a serious organizer so with an overload of groceries comes an overload of organization. I semi-enjoyed it. I had my sweet nephew, niece, and sister on FaceTime to help pass the time. I meal really, what did we do before all this amazing technology? You wouldn't be reading this blog because, well, blogs didn't exist.

Back to dinner. Take out the frying and insert baking and you can make a dish much healthier. I use a chunky tomato sauce with my chicken parmesan to give the dish a little something extra. If you don't have time to make your own sauce, you could always use store bough, just be sure to check ingredients. I use this tomato sauce in all sorts of recipes so feel free to do with it as you wish. 

In my tomato sauce, I use Pomi Chopped Tomatoes which is actually only 26 oz. However, most cans of chopped tomatoes come in 28 oz portions which is fine. 

You can make your Tomato sauce while your chicken is cooking in the oven. I like to get all the ingredients into the pot and then turn it on about 5 minutes before I am going to put my chicken in the oven.  Love a good multitasking meal. This is a recipe that the whole family will enjoy. Happy Cooking!

Chunky Tomato Sauce

GF/DF

printable recipe here!

 Ingredients:

1, 26-28 oz can chopped tomatoes 

2 cloves fresh garlic

1/3 cup dry white wine (or vegetable broth)

2 T fresh parsley 

1 T fresh rosemary 

1/2 t dried thyme

1/2 t salt

1 t crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 t dried basil

31/2 t dried oregano

1/2 t garlic powder

1/2 t onion powder

1/4 t black pepper

1 T sugar

What to do:

Rinse and chop up your fresh herbs; parsley and rosemary.

Mince your garlic.

Add all of the ingredients into a small sauce pan.

Give it a good stir.

Bring your sauce to a simmer over medium heat and stir periodically for about 35 minutes. The sauce should reduce slightly.

That's it! If you are making your sauce ahead of time, store in an airtight container for about a week. 

Chicken "Parmesan"

GF/DF

printable recipe here!

Ingredients:

2 or 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast

1/2 cup almond flour

1 t garlic powder

1/2 t salt

1/4 t black pepper  

2 large egg whites

1 T cold water

1/4 cup DF parmesan cheese 

1 cup GF bread crumbs

1/2 cup DF mozzarella cheese (shredded) I used almond cheese 

What to do:

Preheat your oven to 350°

Grab three shallow dishes and place them in a line.

In the first dish, add the flour, garlic power, salt, and pepper. 

Mix together.

In the second dish, add your egg whites and cold water.

Whisk together.

In the third dish, add your bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.

Mix together.

Trim any excess fat off your chicken breasts and then pat dry.

Time to make a little conga line with the chicken. Start my dredging your chicken in the flour mixture.

Go straight from there to the egg wash. Dip both sides of the chicken in the egg wash. 

And then finally into the bread crumb mixture. I use my hand to help completely cover the chicken breast.

Place your chicken on a wire rack that is placed over a baking sheet to catch falling crumbs.

Repeat the process with your other breast. 

Place your wire rack into the oven and place your baking sheet below your rack. Bake for 20 minutes. 

My cheese comes in block form so I grate the cheese by hand. 

Remove the chicken from the oven before it is completely done.  Spoon enough tomato sauce onto each chicken breast to cover the top. 

Top with your shredded "mozzarella."

Add the chicken back into the oven for an additional 5-7 minutes or until the cheese is melted and chicken is completely cooked. 

I serve this dish with GF pasta and add a little extra red sauce on my noodles :)

Hope you love this dish as much as our household did!
Thanks Y'all!
-Wise Wife