Friday, September 28, 2012

Garlic Parmesan Pasta with Breaded Chicken

Made this awesome dinner with my mom. There were almost no leftovers! A meal ideal for kids and adults! Serves 2 very hungry people or a family of four who haven't been starving for the past week.




What you'll need!
For chicken:
Eggs
Flour
Breadcrumbs
Cheezits (I used White Cheddar but you could use whatever suits your fancy)
Dried minced onions and/or French fried onions
Chicken breasts

For pasta:
1 lb pasta (any kind will do, I used angel hair and thin spaghetti)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon chopped garlic (or minced)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 cup chicken broth
1 -1 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese ( grated will not work well, shredded works best!)
salt and pepper
4 -5 scallions ( green onions, diced with scissors)

What to do!
1. Start your chicken! Get out two decently wide and shallow bowls. In one, crack your eggs and whisk them. In the other, dump the breadcrumbs, cheezits, minced onions/ french fried onions together.
2. Smash the breadcrumbs in their bowl until you get your desired texture. Toss some flour in there. The ratio reallyyyyy doesn't matter here. Just taste what you have and add what you think it needs until you think it's awesome.
3. Prepare a pan and heat the oven to... lets say 400.
4. Dip your chicken breasts in the egg bowl and then roll it around in the breadcrumbs until fully coated. Place it in the pan. Repeat this process with all of the chicken.
5. Cook your chicken! No set time for this, just keep and eye on them. You can handle that.
6. Start your pasta! Boil that water. Put the pasta in. When pasta is half way done, start with cream sauce in separate pot.
7. Add butter, olive oil and garlic and saute on med-low heat until butter is melted, then add red pepper flakes and saute.
8. Mix in flour until combined.
9. Add milk and chicken broth, bring to a boil, lower heat and stir until thickened.
10. Add parmesan and stir until melted.
11. Serve over pasta, and top with green onions.

Okay, so. You've probably noticed that this sauce is not the  healthiest thing on the planet. There are a few things you can change without scarificing taste, though! And you won't feel as guilty.
- Use whole grain pasta
- Use Smart Balance butter. Or just a butter with less calories
- Use Skim or 1% milk instead of whole milk
- Use a chicken broth with reduced sodium

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