Giada's Chicken Parmesan

This dish was AMAZING and SO easy! Here's the story that goes along with it: I had been craving Italian all week. It was Friday, and the next day we had a 7 mile run ahead of us, so I was prepared to splurge. In Googling "Chicken Parmesan" I found this recipe by Giada De Laurentis. The reviews on the Food Network Website were excellent and it was! It's also a lighter version of chicken parm than what you usually see. I altered it just a bit from Giada's recipe.

3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme (my store was out of it, so I used fresh basil)
1 tsp. chopped fresh parsely
salt and freshly ground pepper
4 chicken breasts cut in half from end to end to make 8 cutlets (like creating 2 thinner chicken breasts from each one)
1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce
1/2 c. shredded mozzerella (I used fresh mozzerella "medallions")
16 tsp. shredded parmesan
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into chunks
8 oz. pasta (we used Barilla Plus angel hair)


1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, herbs, salt and pepper. Mix and brush onto both sides of the chicken cutlets. Preheat an ovenproof skillet over high heat. Add chicken to pan and cook just until brown, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the skillet from the heat.
3. Spoon the marinara sauce on top of and around the cutlets. Top the chicken with 1 tsp. of mozzerella (or 1 medallion) and 2 tsp. of parmesan. Sprinkle butter pieces over the cheese. Bake until the cheese melts and the chicken is cooked through, about 5-7 minutes. When the pasta is cooked, add 1 cup of pasta to each plate and top with 2 cutlets of chicken and sauce for the pasta. Enjoy!


Serves 4.