Week 63, Recipe 4: Quick Baked Chicken Parmesan

Photo from Joyful Mama's Kitchen blog

NOTES

• Recipe modified from Joyful Mama's Kitchen blog.
• That was quick and really good! The picture doesn't do it justice (and Joyful Mama says so herself). I wish I would've gotten my own photo but it was a Saturday night and we were all hungry!
• Serve with these delicious soft Italian breasticks (ready for the oven in just 30 minutes!) from an earlier post (the recipe is within Recipe 1 of that week).

INGREDIENTS

• 4 thin chicken breasts or 2 large, sliced crosswise in half to thin
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or finely shredded
• 1 (5 oz) bag butter and garlic croutons
• 2 c. marinara sauce
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• 3 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 c. parmesan cheese, grated

DIRECTIONS

1. Spray a 13x9 inch baking pan or casserole dish with oil.
2. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and place the minced/shredded garlic evenly over the olive oil.
3. Layer the chicken breasts in the bottom of the pan then pour the marinara sauce over top and sprinkle with the dried basil.
4. Sprinkle half of the mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese over top of the chicken then top with the croutons followed by the rest of the cheeses. salad and breadsticks.
5. Bake for about 40-50 minutes (cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts) at 350. Check chicken temp at 35 minutes and do so every 10 minutes until chicken is 160 degrees. If desired, serve with the quick Italian breadsticks (see link above in NOTES).