Weeknight chicken parmesan

Can you believe that I went 20 years before I ever had chicken parm?  It's true!  I never had it until I took a job as a campaign manager for a state representative.  His wonderful wife made amazing chicken parm, and made it for me a lot.  Campaigns don't pay much, so I guess they made up the difference with pasta and breaded chicken.

Fine by me!

But "normal" chicken Parmesan is time consuming and involves lots of frying.  I saw an article a few years ago in People (hard hitting journalism people!  We can't all read the Economist) of a healthier chicken parm, but it involved grape tomatoes, and slice and dicing, and blah blah blah.   I've adapted that recipe to make a delicious "week night" chicken Parmesan.

Sarah's "oh crap I only have 25 minutes to cook dinner" Chicken Parm
-grilled chicken
-mozzarella
-panko bread crumbs
-marinara sauce (I make mine in the crockpot)
-spaghetti noodles (I use organic whole wheat)

1) The key to this recipe is having previously grilled chicken.  Every few months I'll have Troy grill up four huge chicken breasts (that's what she said).  I'll keep some in strips, and I'll slice some and freeze in 2 cup portions to use for various meals.

2) Place chicken in an oven safe dish, and cover with marinara.

3) Slap some mozzarella on top.  Then start your water boiling for the noodles.

The light was so awful this day that I had to take this outside.  Picture is still horrible.

When I was outside taking pictures of my food, this crow was laughing at me.  I was like "shut up crow, I'm going to eat this awesome chicken parm and you have to eat worms and garbage".

4) Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is lightly browned - about 10-15 minutes.

5) Sprinkle with panko breadcrumbs, and put under the broiler for 2-5 minutes, or until the panko is browned.

6) Remove from the oven and serve on top of spaghetti noodles.  Pair with a side salad and fruit, and you've got a meal even my picky ass kid will eat.