Chicken Parmigiana

This dish is absolutely wonderful, and it would make a fantastic Valentine's Day dinner for you and your sweetie, or for your kids.  If you're celebrating alone, that's okay too!  {I had my own days of those times, mostly babysitting for other people to go out to dinner}.  The great thing about this is that you can make lots of the sauce, and freeze it, and only make as many chicken breasts as you need for that meal.  When you want another meal of it, just thaw the sauce, and whip up some more chicken.  Easy!

And, I will give a disclaimer here that I used a bottle of Ragu sauce for this {gasp!}.  I know, the 'Scratch Lady', as someone has termed me, using a bottled sauce??  Well, we recently joined Costco, and the first time I made a big purchase I didn't see crushed tomatoes anywhere, which is what I normally use to make spaghetti sauce.  So, I opted for the 3-pack of Ragu.  I add my own seasonings when I make it, so it doesn't go straight from the jar to the table, but none of us like it as well as the homemade kind.  On my second trip to Costco I discovered a very large can of crushed tomatoes for only $3!  That would make at least 3 batches of the sauce I normally make, so now that my Ragu is all gone, I'll be buying a large can of those tomatoes :)

This recipe comes from Pioneer Woman, but I changed it a bit, so my version is below.   If you want the step-by-step pictures, she has some great ones, which is why I didn't take any.  Ha!

Chicken Parmigiana


1/2 cup oil
2 tablespoons margarine {or butter}
4 chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4-inch thickness
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
salt and pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
4 minced garlic cloves
3/4 cup cream sherry
1 jar Ragu pasta sauce (48 oz)
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Mix flour, salt and pepper in a wide-mouthed dish.  Coat each side of the chicken breasts in this mixture.  Heat oil and butter in large skillet.  Add chicken, and cook on both sides, until golden and crispy, about 2-3 minutes per side.  Remove chicken from skillet.

Using same skillet, add onion and garlic and saute for 2 minutes.  Add cream sherry, stir and cook until sherry cooks down to about half.  Pour in pasta sauce, stirring to combine and then add sugar.  Cook for about 30 minutes.  Toward the end of the cooking time, add parsley.

Place each chicken breast in the sauce and top generously with the cheese.  Turn heat to low, cover, and cook until the cheese is melted and chicken is heated through.  Serve over your favorite cooked pasta noodles {I used angel hair pasta}.

source:  slightly adapted from Pioneer Woman