I love a good plate of chicken Parmesan as much as the next girl, but it doesn’t get made much in this house because I tend to shy away from recipes that require each person to have a separate slab of somewhat expensive meat. We like meat as much as the next family, but if I were to give each person their own Parmesan, we’d have five chicken breasts used up for a single meal and that, my friends, is too much money for this group to spend for one sitting. So I tend to gravitate towards meals that will allow me to use less meat and get more bang for my buck.
Fast forward to this meal. I was chatting with a friend on the phone about what to have for dinner. I told her my ingredients and she immediately suggested Chicken Parmesan. I told her my issue and she said, “why don’t you just cut it up and make it casserole style?” Brilliant idea. Use less meat but still get my tasty dinner. So that is what I did. And can I say that it was so so so so good. I’m honestly not sure I need to eat it the other way again. Not only did it feed the five of us, but there were two bowls of leftovers for lunches and I only used three chicken breasts instead of five. Yes, yes, you can pat me on the back now. Ok here we go with what you’ll need:
Ingredients Needed:
2 Tbsp of Olive Oil
4 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
1 Medium Onion, Diced
3 Chicken Breasts, Diced
1/4 Cup of Balsamic Vinegar
1 Small Handful of Fresh Basil
1 tsp of Oregano
1 28 Oz Can of Marinara
10 Oz of Fresh Marinated Mozzarella
1 Tbsp of Butter
3/4 Cup Breadcrumbs
1 tsp Mrs. Dash
Heat up your oil on medium heat and add in the garlic. Now add in your diced onions and cook for another 4-5 minutes or until they become transparent.
After your onions are cooked, turn your heat down to medium and throw in your chicken and balsamic vinegar. Cook chicken through until juices run clear. Now add in your basil and oregano. I used frozen dorot basil because it’s all I had, but if you have fresh, you’ll cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until it wilts down nicely and looks dark green and beautiful. Here’s what you’ll have so far.
Now add in your marinara and stir it up good. Transfer to your baking dish. On top of the chicken mixture place hunks of your marinated mozzarella to cover the sauce.
Finally assemble the ingredients for your breadcrumbs. To a small bowl add your melted butter, breadcrumbs (I used panko – love it!) and Mrs. Dash.
Mix it together well and sprinkle it over the top of your casserole to cover the cheese well. Throw the whole dish in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until heated through. If your breadcrumbs start to get to brown on the top, simply throw a piece of aluminum foil over the top to keep them from burning. And here’s what it should look like when it’s done.
If that doesn’t make you say Manga, I don’t know what will. Isn’t it tutti bella? Can you imagine having it any other way? I sure can’t. We served it up with gnocchi underneath and had a frugal feast.
Chicken Parmesan a la Frugal
Yield: Serves 6 (approx. 1 cup servings)
Total Time: 40 min
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Olive Oil, Diced
4 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1 Onion, Diced
1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
1 Bunch Fresh Basil
1 tsp Oregano
1 28 Oz. Can Marinara
1 Tbsp Butter/span>
3/4 Cup Bread Crumbs (I used Panko)
1 tsp Mrs. Dash
Directions:
Heat up your oil on medium heat and add in the garlic.
Add in your diced onions and cook for another 4-5 minutes or until they become transparent.
Turn your heat down to medium and throw in the chicken and balsamic vinegar. Cook chicken through until juices run clear.
Add in your basil and oregano.
Pour in the marinara and stir it up good. Transfer to your baking dish. On top of the chicken mixture place hunks of marinated mozzarella to cover the sauce.
To a small bowl add your melted butter, breadcrumbs and Mrs. Dash.
Mix together well and sprinkle it over the top of your casserole to cover the cheese well.
Throw the dish in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until heated through. If your breadcrumbs start to get to brown on the top, simply throw a piece of aluminum foil over the top to keep them from burning.
Serve over pasta or gnocchi.
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holy chicken parmesan! i have GOT to try this! chicken parm is one of my all time favorite meals, I am so excited to make this. thank you!
Wow, this one's nice to try to change my way of cooking chicken on saturday's.
Gotta have a print on this in my kitchen so as not to forget the preparation, great details on how to cook. Thanks!
Hi Julie!
Greetings from Malaysia again! Just want to say thank you for dropping by my blog on my SITS day. You can read the aftermath of my whole day SITting episode at this link:
http://imafulltimemummy.blogspot.com/2010/05/afternath-of-whole-day-sitting.html
Thank you again and hope to see you back here sometime! 😀
Warmest Regards,
Jenny aka I'm a full-time mummy
(http://imafulltimemummy.blogspot.com/)
Btw, those chicken looks yummylicious! I'm going to save the bookmark for the recipe 🙂
What a great idea! I'll have to give it a try.
Stopping by from SITS
Intersting, I'll have to check it out. When I make Chicken Parm (which I do a little different than you as I don't use balsamic vinegar or Mrs. Dash) I make tons because my husband always wants lots of leftovers. I think it's awesome too but I wish he wouldn't eat 3 breasts himself and than another 2 more the next day. It's ridiculous and expensive.
Oh man…I love chicken parm and this looks way easier than the original method. Great invention! Marinated mozzarella sounds so yummy. Oh, and please do make the lemon cake! I'm sure you will love it!
This looks delicious! I'll have to give it a try. I do agree with you that 5 chicken breast is a lot of meat for one sitting. Love it that there are left overs for lunch.
Thanks for visiting and following my blog. I am glad to follow you back and look forward to exchanging recipes with you 🙂
This looks delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Stopping by from SITS to say hello. Happy Thursday!
I appreciate the clarity of your posts and your beautiful pictures. Each time I read through one of your recipes, I'm inspired to get into the kitchen. Thank you for sharing!
Yum!
I just stopped by from Lady Bloggers Society to say hi!
-Meg
[Life of Meg]
Holy crap, this is another stroke of genius!!! Thanks for you for your kind thoughts for GG. She's doing better today!
Lots of yummy love,
Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner
http://www.mawhats4dinner.com
I agree – chicken parmesan ala casserole is brilliant! The family is going to LOVE IT!
🙂
ButterYum
Well, This looks delicious! I'll have to give it a try. I do agree with you that 5 chicken breast is a lot of meat for one sitting. Love it that there are left overs for lunch.thanx for the post.
I am glad to follow you back and look forward to exchanging recipes with you, keep it such kind of hard work.
Wow! This was the best Chicken Parm ever! I beat the breasts and also cut them in half. Mixed 1/2 cup of Italian bread crumbs with about 2/3 cup parm cheese. I did fry them, but only for about 4 minutes on each side, then baked them. YUM!
Yummy, I love chicken parm and this looks way easier than the original method. Great invention! Marinated mozzarella sounds so yummy. Oh, and please do make the lemon cake! I'm sure you will love it!
I enjoyed watching the pictures. I feel like I'm the one who cook the food. Its very nice. Thanks for the recipe. Its perfect!
This is excellent. I had Italian bread crumbs on hand so used that for extra flavor. To save time I used Ragu Parmesan Robusto sauce. Really good! 🙂
I have some Fried Chicken patties in the oven right now. I want to make chicken parmesan. Will tomatoe paste work or should I use tomato sauce. And is mozzarella cheese or parmesan cheese right?
Wow! Sounds delicious!! I will try your recipe at home. Thanks for the recipe.
I feel like I'm the one who cook the food. Its very nice. Thanks for the recipe. Its perfect for me.
Well, I read through one of your recipes, I'm inspired to get into the kitchen. Thank you for post.
I think its Spanish dish, right? Well, I just love Spanish dishes they are awesome!
I’m making this tonight. I’ll let you know how it turns out!…I’ll try to remember a photo or two so I can blog about it.
Oh my gosh. This was DELICIOUS!!!! I took pictures. Will send to you…you foodie genius. Thank you! I made mine just as you said and it was super simple but got to thinking that you could probably throw everything in the crock pot on low (minus the Gnocchi) so that it’s ready when you get home…what do you think? Would 8 hrs on low (or warm) overcook it?
Hugs,
Jami