Baked Chicken Parmesan With Diy Marinara Fresh Mozzarella And Rigatoni Food

THE BEST PARMESAN CHICKEN BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Coat the bottom of a 9x13 inch casserole dish with olive oil, and sprinkle with garlic and hot red pepper flakes.
• Arrange the chicken breasts in bottom of the dish, and pour marinara sauce over chicken. Sprinkle basil over marinara sauce, and top with half the mozzarella cheese, followed by half the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle on the croutons, then top with the remaining mozzarella cheese and remaining Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven until cheese and croutons are golden brown and the chicken is no longer pink inside, about 35 minutes to an hour, depending on the shape and thickness of your chicken breasts. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a chicken breast should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

CHICKEN PARMESAN WITH MY MOTHER'S MARINARA SAUCE AND BUCATINI

Steps:

• For the sauce: Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook for a few minutes until the onions are softened slightly but not brown. Stir in the garlic, sugar and red pepper flakes. (If the onions begin to brown, add a splash of water.)
• Stir in the grated carrots and the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and continue to cook until the carrots soften, about 2 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes and use a wooden spoon to break up some of the whole tomatoes. Cook over medium heat, stirring from time to time, until the tomatoes are fairly broken down and the sauce has thickened, at least 30 minutes. Season to taste and add water as necessary. Stir in the basil leaves. Keep the sauce warm.
• For the chicken: Lay a piece of chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap and use the smooth side of a meat mallet to pound into a 1/4-inch-thick cutlet. Repeat with remaining cutlet then slice both pieces in half.
• Line a baking sheet with paper towels and set aside. Combine the breadcrumbs and garlic powder in a shallow dish. Crack the eggs in a second shallow dish and whisk to blend. Sprinkle the chicken pieces on both sides with salt and dip each thoroughly in the eggs; transfer to the breadcrumbs to thoroughly coat. Place the chicken on the paper towels.
• For the pasta: Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add a generous amount of salt. (The pasta water should taste like seawater.) Add the pasta to the pot and stir so it doesn't stick. Cook the pasta according to the package directions until al dente (chewy but not hard or raw tasting). Drain well and set aside.
• To finish the chicken: Fill a medium cast-iron skillet with about 1/3 to 1/2 cup canola oil (to come about 1/4 of the way up the sides) and heat over medium until the oil is just barely starting to smoke. Sprinkle the top of each cutlet with salt and gently place in the oil, salted-side down. Add the butter to the pan and as it begins to foam, shake the pan gently. Cook on the first side until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Gently flip to the second side, sprinkle with salt and carefully spoon some of the hot oil mixture on top. Cook until golden brown and cooked through, an additional 2 to 3 minutes, then remove from the pan with a slotted spatula to clean paper towels to drain slightly.
• Preheat the broiler with the rack in the highest position. Divide the sauce between 2 medium bowls, one for the pasta and one for the chicken Parmesan.
• To assemble the chicken Parmesan, add some tomato sauce to a small cast-iron skillet or baking dish. Layer with a couple mozzarella slices and the basil. Put one of the fried chicken cutlets on top of the basil, followed by another spoonful of sauce, then a second layer of mozzarella. Place the second chicken cutlet next, followed by a third layer of sauce, more mozzarella and a large sprinkle of Parmesan. Repeat with the remaining pieces of chicken and other ingredients in a second small cast-iron skillet. Place the skillets on a sheet tray and broil until the cheese is melted and slightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Top with more freshly grated Parmesan.
• Toss the pasta and sauce together in a large bowl and taste for seasoning. Top with grated Parmesan. Serve with the skillets of chicken parm.

BAKED MOZZARELLA RIGATONI

Steps:

• Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Prepare fresh Basil leaves by tearing or chopping them into dime-sized pieces and set aside.
• Cut about five slices of the fresh Mozzarella cheese and set aside.
• Cube the remaining Mozzarella cheese and set aside. I use about half of the cheese as cubes and about half as slices.
• Dice the tomatoes and set aside.
• Pour the Olive oil into your favorite skillet and apply medium heat.
• Fill a large pot with water, and apply high heat to boil the pasta.
• Lightly oil a 9 x 13 inch baking dish that is about 2 inches deep.
• Into a large bowl, combine the Marinara sauce, the diced tomatoes, the Basil, the Oregano, the red pepper flakes and the cubes of Mozzarella.
• Remove the casings from the sausages and brown in the skillet, breaking the sausages into clumps.
• Cook the Rigatoni in the boiling water until just tender. I like to add olive oil and salt to the water here, but you may cook your pasta how you like.
• After the pasta and sausage are cooked, add both to the large bowl and thoroughly, but gently, combine.
• Once everything has been mixed, pour the contents of the bowl into the baking dish.
• Place the slices of Mozzarella on top of the mixture. I like to cut the slices into smaller slices so I get a nice even distribution of Mozzarella on the top of the mixture.
• Place in the pre-heated oven, on the middle rack, and bake for about 20 minutes.

CHICKEN PARMESAN WITH FRESH MOZZARELLA AND FRESH BASIL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Mix italian bread crumbs with panko in a large dish.
• Slather each chicken breast with mayo and dredge in breadcrumbs.
• Put chicken breasts side by side in baking dish and cook in oven for 15-18 minutes or until they start to brown on the outside.
• Begin the sauce with jar of pasta sauce, can of tomatoes, sugar, garlic, salt and pepper (add a little onion if you wish). Simmer on low-medium heat until chicken is browning.
• Remove chicken from oven and pour all of the sauce over the tops of the breasts.
• Reduce oven temp to 375 and bake, uncovered, for another 20 minutes.
• In the last 5 minutes, pull the chicken out again and layer on slices of FRESH MOZZARELLA all over the chicken and return to oven.
• I usually turn the broiler on for about 2 mins to start the melting process then turn it back to the oven.
• Once the cheese has melted and started to bubble, remove from oven.
• Top with lots of torn Fresh Basil leaves.
• Serve with pasta.