My Perfected Chicken Parm

I've been trying to perfect my chicken parmesan recipe for the past few months, trying different ingredients out to find the best combinations. The secret, I've discovered, is using panko breadcrumbs and provolone cheese, instead of mozzerella. If you aren't familar with panko, you can typically locate it in the ethnic food aisle with the japanese products. Panko has a crispier, airier texture than regular breadcrumbs.

Chicken Parmesan
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Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts; pounded thin
3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 T Italian seasoning
1 egg
4 T olive oil
13 oz spaghetti sauce (1/2 of a regular sized jar)
4 pieces of provolone cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a saute pan with the olive oil and heat to medium-high. Mix together panko and Italian seasoning in a shallow dish. Beat egg in another shallow dish. Place chicken, one by one, in egg mixture to coat then transfer to panko mixture and coat evenly.

2. Place chicken in heated pan and cook for 5 minutes on each side or until chicken is browned and crispy. In a baking dish, evenly spread a small portion of the sauce across the bottom of the pan.

3. Place the chicken in the baking dish and pour the rest of the sauce evenly over the chicken. Pour parmesan cheese over the chicken and place a slice of provolone cheese on each piece of chicken. Cook for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and starts to brown. If after 20 minutes the cheese isn't melting, place under broiler for a few minutes until it melts.

Sour Cream and Onion Chicken

Yes, its called sour cream and onion chicken, yet it doesn't contain either ingredient. The filling is rich and creamy and tastes similar to sour cream and onion chips.

Sour Cream and Onion Chicken

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Ingredients:

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup chives

1/2 stick butter, softened

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together cream cheese, chives, and butter. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Lay flat and spread filling across chicken. Roll up chicken and place in a baking sheet. Spread any additional filling on top of the chicken. Cook for 1 hour.

Beer Butt Chicken

I've been reading a ton of blogs lately of authors who have made beer butt chicken, or beer can chicken as others call it. I was feeling intrigued to give it a try. At first I didn't think there was anyway that we'd have enough propane to last three hours but fortunately, I was wrong. The final result was very tasty! I wish I would have had a meat thermometer, though, because I think I overcooked it a bit. Overall, it was much easier than expected!

I chose a recipe from allrecipes.com that had great reviews.

Beer Butt Chicken

Source: Allrecipes.com

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Ingredients:

1 cup butter
2 tablespoons garlic salt
2 tablespoons paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1 (12 fluid ounce) can beer
1 (4 pound) whole chicken

Directions:

1. Preheat an outdoor grill for low heat. In a small skillet, melt 1/2 cup butter. Mix in 1 tablespoon garlic salt, 1 tablespoon paprika, salt, and pepper.

2. Discard 1/2 the beer, leaving the remainder in the can. Add remaining butter, garlic salt, paprika, and desired amount of salt and pepper to beer can. Place can on a disposable baking sheet. Set chicken on can, inserting can into the cavity of the chicken. Baste chicken with the melted, seasoned butter.

3. Place baking sheet with beer and chicken on the prepared grill. Cook over low heat for about 3 hours, or until internal temperature of chicken reaches 180 degrees F (80 degrees C).

Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken

I found this recipe on All Recipes. I loved it but it was too spicy for my husband, whose idea of spicy is using black pepper. I will probably try to minimize the spice factor by decreasing the cayenne next time.

Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken
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INGREDIENTS:

3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons garlic powder
3 tablespoons lime juice

DIRECTIONS
1. In a small bowl, mix together salt, black pepper, cayenne, paprika, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, onion powder, thyme and parsley. Sprinkle spice mixture generously on both sides of chicken breasts.

2. Heat butter and olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute chicken until golden brown, about 6 minutes on each side. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons garlic powder and lime juice. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently to coat evenly with sauce.

Basil Chicken

I've been trying to find some more healthy recipes to give us beach-ready bodies. I remembered a great website I used a few years ago during the South Beach Diet phase of my life called 3 Fat Chicks. The website gives great diet tips and has a ton of great recipes that have been reviewed by its users.


After this was done, I was a little hesitant to try it because I figured it would be flavorless. Let's be real. Most "diet" food is. Well this broke ever diet food rule in the book! It had a great lemony flavor and wasn't at all overpowered by all the basil included in the dish. It's a definite must try! I'm including the link for the original recipe and posting the recipe I changed up.

Basil Chicken

Source: 3 fat Chicks

Ingredients-
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
3 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. sugar or splenda
1/2 tsp. pepper

Directions-


1. Pound chicken to 1/2″ thickness. Add oil to pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan. Cook, turning to lightly brown on both sides, about 5 minutes.


2. Chop basil leaves. Add 1/2 basil to pan, along with garlic and remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer until chicken is white in center of thickest part, 6 to 7 minutes, spooning juices over chicken often. Transfer chicken to a platter; keep warm. Boil pan juices, uncovered, over high heat until reduced to 1/4 cup. Stir in remaining sliced basil and pour over chicken.

Sauteed Chicken in Mustard-Cream Sauce

Don't let the fancy-shmancy title fool you! This recipe is super easy and tasty. I got a new cookbook for my birthday this year that I love. Its called Great Food Fast from The Kitchens of Martha Stewart. Has Martha ever failed? Okay, okay...there was that one minor mishap that landed her in the slammer but overall she's pretty genius. Dorie Greenspan is still my #1 gal but Martha's a close second. The book has pictures of every dish which is always helpful when picking recipes.

Sauteed Chicken in Mustard-Cream Sauce
Source- Everyday Food: Great Food Fast

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, pounded thin
coarse salt and ground pepper
2 T olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 T Dijon Mustard ( Excuse me, do you have any Grey Poupon?)
1 t dried tarragon (or 1 T fresh)

Directions-

1. Sprinkle each chicken breast with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. (If you aren't keen on grease fires, make sure you have a lid.) Add the chicken; saute until cooked through, 10-12 minutes, turning once. (Because I pounded those suckers thin, it took more like 8 minutes.) Transfer to a plate; keep warm.

2. Pour the wine into the hot skillet; cook, stirring, until reduced by half, about one minute. Whisk in the cream, mustard, and tarragon. Cook, whisking, until thickened, about two minutes.

3. Pour any accumulated chicken juices into the sauce. Right before serving, drizzle the cream sauce over the sauteed chicken. (I had way more sauce left over.)

Artichoke Chicken

I originally saw this recipe on The Baking Bailey . I was afraid my husband wouldn't like it because he isn't a huge fan of artichokes but luckily the main flavor in the topping turned out to be the parmesan cheese. You can definitely taste the artichokes, it just isn't predominant. He ended up scarfing it down and getting seconds!

Artichoke Chicken

Source: The Baking Bailey

Ingredients-

1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (I used about 3/4 cup)
2/3 can of artichoke hearts, chopped roughly
1 teaspoon garlic powder
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded

Directions
1. Mix mayo, parmesan cheese, artichoke hearts and garlic powder in bowl.

2. Spread over chicken and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until top browns slightly.

Bourbon Chicken

I was craving Chinese food but wanted something a bit more healthy than what we would get from a take-out restaurant. I found this recipe on Recipezaar and luckily had all (okay, most) of the ingredients. I skipped the ginger but it still tasted great! I think next time I'll make a bit more sauce and toss the broccoli in with the chicken.

Bourbon Chicken
Source- Recipezaar

Ingredients:
2 lbs boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces (I used 4 breasts)
1-2 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed (I used two)
1/4 teaspoon ginger (omitted)
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (omitted)
1/4 cup apple juice
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned. Remove chicken.

2. Add remaining ingredients, heating over medium Heat until well mixed and dissolved.

3. Add chicken and bring to a hard boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Chicken Marsala

Chicken Marsala is one of my favorite things to order when we go out to a restaurant. I was really happy to find this recipe that takes minimal time and ingredients and tastes just as good. I have omitted the use of the flour coating in the past to reduce calories. Just beware that the sauce will obviously be a lot thinner.

Chicken Marsala

Source- allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded 1/4 inch thick

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

½ teaspoon garlic powder

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 container of mushrooms (sliced)

1 cup Marsala wine

½ cup chicken broth

Directions:

1. Sprinkle chicken with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, basil, and oregano. Coat chicken pieces in flour mixture.

2. In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat. Place chicken in the pan, and lightly brown.

3. Turn over chicken pieces, and add mushrooms. Pour in wine and chicken broth. Cover skillet; simmer chicken until juices run clear, and the mushrooms are tender. The sauce should thicken on its own from the flour on the chicken, however, if you need to thicken it a little more, dissolve a tablespoon of either flour or corn starch with a little bit of water and add to the sauce and bring to a boil.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Allrecipes.com is my savior. It has never failed to give me great recipes. I found this recipe for Chicken Cordon Bleu on their site and it had over 1000+ 5 star reviews. It did not fail to produce an incredible dish! The best part is the creamy wine sauce that you spoon over the chicken. I made the chicken with broccoli and mashed potatoes and we used the sauce on both as well. This is my new favorite chicken recipe!

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Source- www.allrecipes.com

Ingredients-
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
4 slices Swiss cheese
4 slices ham
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon paprika
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions-

1. Pound chicken breasts if they are too thick. Place a cheese and ham slice on each breast within 1/2 inch of the edges. Fold the edges of the chicken over the filling, and secure with toothpicks. Mix the flour and paprika in a small bowl, and coat the chicken pieces.
2. Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the chicken until browned on all sides. Add the wine and bouillon. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.
3. Remove the toothpicks, and transfer the breasts to a warm platter. Blend the cornstarch with the cream in a small bowl, and whisk slowly into the skillet. Cook, stirring until thickened, and pour over the chicken. Serve warm.

Chicken Francaise

My friend Laura gave me this recipe after I complained that I was in a recipe rut. She adapted it from a few different recipes she had used through the years. Oh my goodness! It was amazing! I'll definitely add this to our chicken rotation.


Chicken Francaise

Ingredients-
4 chicken breasts, skinned and boned and seasoned with garlic salt
1 cup flour
3 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup wine
3 cloves garlic, pureed
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Sauce:
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup lemon juice

Directions:

1. Pound your chicken until 1/4 inch thin. Dip the chicken in the flour then set aside.

2. Make the batter by beating the eggs briskly, then adding in the lemon juice, parsley, wine, garlic, and parmesan.

3. Coat a heavy skillet with margarine, butter or olive oil and place over medium-high heat.

4. Dip the floured chicken pieces generously in the batter and place in the heated skillet. Cook until golden brown on each side, about 5 minutes each side. Remove chicken from the pan and drain excess oil.

5. Make the wine sauce by melting the margarine in the pan, then stirring in the wine and lemon juice.

6. Return the chicken pieces to the pan, spooning the wine sauce over all and cook 1 minute longer.

Garlic Cheddar Chicken

Mmmmmm...everything is better with cheddar! This recipe is similar to the Garlic Chicken recipe I posted previously except for the addition of cheddar. I didn't realize that the recipe was for 8 pieces of chicken until after I mixed up the ingredients and I was only planning on making 4. So remember to half everything! Its cheesey goodness in every bite!

Garlic Cheddar Chicken
Source: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients-

1/2 cup butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded thin

Directions-


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat, and cook the garlic until tender, about 5 minutes.
3. In a shallow bowl, mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, Cheddar cheese, parsley, oregano, pepper, and salt.

4. Dip each chicken breast in the garlic butter to coat, then press into the bread crumb mixture. Arrange the coated chicken breasts in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Drizzle with any remaining butter and top with any remaining bread crumb mixture.

5. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Chicken Piccata

This is one of my favorite chicken recipes. The chicken comes out light, lemony, and juicy!

Chicken Piccata

Source: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients-

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 egg
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/4 cup butter
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder
1/2 cup boiling water

Directions-

1. In a small bowl, beat the egg together with 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice. Set aside.
In a shallow bowl or dish mix together the flour, garlic powder and paprika. Dip the chicken in the egg/lemon mixture, then in the seasoned flour.

2. In a large skillet, melt butter/margarine and brown the coated chicken pieces.

3. Dissolve the bouillon in the boiling water, then add the remaining 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Pour liquid into skillet. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes, turning chicken pieces after 10 minutes, until chicken is tender. Garnish as desired and serve.

Balsamic Chicken

I received this recipe through an email chain but I'm not sure of the original source. When I told my husband I was making balsamic chicken, he wrinkled his nose thinking he wouldn't like it. Well, wasn't he wrong! He loved it. I used an inexpensive balsamic vinegar found at the grocery store and the honey and garlic really complimented it. The balsamic sauce soaks into the chicken and gives it tons of flavor.

Balsamic Chicken

Source: Unknown

1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons honey

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

4 (5-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

5 garlic cloves

chopped parsley (optional)

1. Combine broth, vinegar, and honey.

2. Pound chicken to 1/4-1/2 inch thick and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Melt butter and oil in a large nonstick skillet over low heat. Place flour in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken in flour; shake off excess flour. Increase heat to medium-high; heat 2 minutes or until the butter turns golden brown. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

3. Add garlic, and sauté 30 seconds. Add the broth mixture, scraping to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil, and cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 3 minutes). Serve sauce over chicken. 4. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.

Garlic Chicken

I found this recipe on http://www.allrecipes.com/ and it had great reviews so I decided to give it a try. It literally took five minutes to prep and it tasted great! The only moderation I made was using a bit more garlic than it called for. I'll definitely add this dish to my dinner rotation.

Source: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients-

2 teaspoons crushed garlic ( I used 6 cloves)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Directions-

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Warm the garlic and olive oil to blend the flavors. In a separate dish, combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Dip the chicken breasts in the olive oil and garlic mixture, then into the bread crumb mixture. Place in a shallow baking dish.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until no longer pink and juices run clear.