Skillet Chicken Parmesan

Lately Dan and I have been eating a lot of mozzarella sticks, leftover takeout, and cold pizza. My mom's birthday lunch kind of burned me out on the cooking front, and I haven't been able to muster the energy to whip up anything blog-worthy. There were the glazed, grilled pork chops last Friday, but...I was hungry and didn't remember to take pictures until the chops were a mere grease smear on our plates. Alas.

Not that Dan ever complains about what I put into his stomach or anything, but I was feeling a little guilty last night after work. There was a time -- not so long ago, really -- when I painstakingly planned our dinners hours in advance and eagerly looked forward to putting home-cooked meals on the table every night. That lasted...2 weeks, I think. How did I get so lazy so quickly? Anyway, I was bound and determined to whip up something delicious last night, but it was late-ish, and neither of us could wait long enough for anything really involved. So, what is quick and delicious and filling? Skillet chicken parmesan.

Because we ran out of eggs this weekend, and I only had panko breadcrumbs, I was originally just going to pan fry some chicken breasts, smother them in sauce and throw the whole thing into the oven for a while. Who says chicken in chicken parmesan has to be breaded? Imagine my delight when I discovered a canister of Italian-style breadcrumbs in the pantry and half a container of heavy cream in the fridge! In case you were wondering, cream with a dash of salt/pepper works just as well as eggs + milk when it comes to breading chicken.

This turned out to be one of the yummiest meals we've eaten in a while (although, note to self: brown the chicken longer to crisp it up more), and it took only 30 minutes from start to finish. Eat your heart out, Rachel Ray!

Skillet Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:

- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

- 1/3 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs

- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

- 1/3 cup heavy cream

- 1 jar pasta sauce
- 1 tsp minced garlic

- Salt

- Pepper

Steps:

(1) Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper.

(2) In small bowl, season cream with salt/pepper to taste. 

(3) In separate bowl, mix breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan.

(4) Dip chicken breasts into the cream, then dredge in breadcrumbs.

(5) Cook chicken breasts on a skillet over medium heat with the minced garlic until lightly brown. Turn once to brown both sides.

(6) Pour pasta sauce over breasts. Place cover on skillet and let everything cook for 15-20 minutes.

(7) Serve with pasta, salad, and garlic bread. Pile on the grated Parmesan!