Potlucks can sometimes be a nightmare when you know you don’t have much time to prepare but there are a few things you can do to make your life easier (aside from ordering takeout hahahaha). I find that making baked dishes are easier to do, because the baking time allows me to do other things like wash up, or even take a quick shower. For this recipe, here are some things I decided to that made things easy:
- I keep a jar of my favorite coating for fried food: it can be 2 parts breadcrumbs to 1 part flour, and my favorite spices – paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper– according to taste — for this recipe, before coating the chicken I added dried oregano and fresh thyme to the mix.
- I also keep Marinara sauce in the fridge or freezer. A good simple marinara recipe can be found here: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/26293/simple-marinara-sauce/. If none, I buy the best sauce available that is based on real crushed tomatoes. Barilla is a good brand for one.
- If you’re buying cheese for melting on the day itself from a deli, have them pre slice your cheese so that distribution is easier later.
But if you are in a hurry, this is still something quick that is simple that you can whip up in huge batches.
Chicken Parmigiana
Prep time: 5-10 minutes (depending on if you have your “shortcut stock” at hand.)
Cooking time: 25-30 minutes
Serves 10-15
Note:you can scale down the recipe according to the number of persons you are serving.
Ingredients:
- 15-20 pieces of chicken breast fillet, depending on size.
- Breading/coating mix (1 to 1 and a half cups depending on how big the chicken fillets are.
- 5 cups of Marinara sauce (see link above) or 1 bottle of Barilla Tomato Sauce (any type. I like the Ricotta one)
- A few basil leaves, chopped
- 100 grams of Mozarella cheese, sliced
- 100 grams of Havarti cheese, sliced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
- Pat the chicken dry so that any excess water or juice is not out. Place in a bowl and coat chicken with the breading mix.
- On a baking pan/dish that is at least 2-3 inches thick, spray on a little olive oil, or spread at least 2 tablespoons evenly throughout the pan. Set the chicken fillet on the pan/dish, ensuring that there are small spaces between each piece.
- Cook the chicken for 5 minutes in the oven until it has a light golden brown color.
- Take the tray out and set down a slices of mozarella and havarti (a mix of both) on each chicken piece.
- Pour the marinara sauce on the spaces around the chicken. Add salt and pepper according to taste. Put back in the oven for another 25 minutes.
- Once cooked, sprinkle with fresh basil and or chopped parsley and serve. You can also cover with foil to keep warm and serve later.
