Parmesan Chicken with Creamy Tomato Basil Sauce

This sounds fancy, I know, and it really is! I felt like I was eating at a fancy Italian restaurant. I had wonderful, warm, soft homemade bread with it, too. The Parmesan chicken is my specialty - it never fails or disappoints. This time, instead of deep frying the chicken, I pan-fried it instead - which is probably way healthier than deep frying it. And I decided that pan-frying it tastes so much better - also looks way better, too! The creamy tomato-basil sauce is so yummy, too, with a tiny kick.

Parmesan Chicken with Creamy Tomato Basil Sauce

Ingredients:

Linguini or your favorite pasta noodles
1 lb chicken breasts, pounded into 1/4 inch thick and cut in half
1/2 cup flour, for dredging
3 large eggs
2 cups panko (Available on most Asian aisles)
2 teaspoons seasoned salt (McCormick Season All is always good)
2 teaspoons parsley flakes
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Oil for pan-frying
Creamy Tomato Basil Sauce (Recipe follows)

Direction:

Cook linguini or your favorite pasta as directed in the package in 1 tablespoon olive oil and pinch of salt.
Prepare eggs (beaten) and flour in separate bowls. Then in a large bowl, mix panko, seasoned salt, parsley flakes, and parmesan cheese well.

Dredge chicken in flour. Shake off excess. Dip it in beaten eggs then cover with breading (the panko mixture). Heat olive oil, about 2-3 tablespoons, in a large skillet on medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, place the breaded chicken in the skillet and cook about 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. (The chicken is thin so it shouldn't take long to cook, but make sure that there is no pink in the middle.) Remove the chicken from heat and drain the oil by placing it on a paper toweled plate.

Stir linguini or your favorite pasta in the creamy tomato basil sauce. Serve the parmesan chicken over the pasta and pour the sauce over the chicken, if desired.

Creamy Tomato Basil Sauce

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large red onion, chopped (I didn't use any onions but I'm sure it's really good with it if you're an onion lover!)
  
• 3 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 (14 ounce) cans diced tomatoes (Next time, I'd only use about 1 or 1 1/2 cans)
  
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (I used the sweet kind)
• (optional) 1 tablespoon dry red wine
  
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/3 cup fresh chopped basil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2/3 cup mascarpone cheese

Direction:

Heat olive oil in a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes until they are carmelized, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, red wine, and sugar, and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the basil, salt, and black pepper, and simmer, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in the mascarpone cheese, until the sauce becomes creamy.

This dish is fabulous with Garlic Loaves.