So Many Dishes

By now, you should know that I love to collect recipes. I used to look forward to the weekly food section of the newspaper, so that I could sort through and cut out any recipes that appealed to me. My mother gave me a subscription to Bon Appetit, and for years, one of my Christmas presents would be a subscription renewal. Over the years, I have torn out hundreds of magazine pages. In the age of Pinterest and food blogs, I’ve also printed plenty of recipes from the internet, too. I also use the Paprika app on my iPad to store and organize recipes, but there’s something about having those printed instructions, and writing notes as I go when I make changes. It’s also satisfying to crumple up a page and throw it away when the recipe turns out to be a bomb.

My recipe files consist of expanding pocket files, each labeled by recipe type, i.e., sides, baked goods, soups, etc. I have two files for entrees, “chicken” and “entrees not chicken.”

Last evening’s dinner came out of the chicken file. It’s my favorite version of chicken parmigiana, from the Skinnytaste website. I’ve had good luck with Gina Homolka’s recipes. They’re tasty and generally a healthy alternative. (I toyed with the idea of trying her whole wheat soda bread muffins for St. Patrick’s Day, but figured we didn’t need more carbs). This was easy to scale down for just the two of us. We didn’t want to add to the leftovers already in the fridge, so I cut this in half, which was no problem. One boneless chicken breast cut in half was perfect for the two of us.

Baked Chicken Parmesan

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
• 1 cup marinara (homemade or bottled)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a baking dish lightly with cooking spray. Slice chicken breasts in half lengthwise to make 4 chicken pieces.

Combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese in a bowl. Melt the butter in another bowl. Lightly brush the butter onto the chicken, then dredge the chicken pieces in the bread crumb mixture. Place in baking dish. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes.

Remove from oven. Spoon marinara evenly over chicken pieces, then top each with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Bake for 5 more minutes, or until cheese is melted. Makes 4 servings.

We originally planned to serve the chicken over spaghetti, but decided to use up some stumps of various pasta shapes instead. Along with a salad of baby greens and tomatoes, it felt like a special occasion dinner. It tasted that way, too!

Happy eating!