5:30 Challenge: Quick Chicken Parmesan
5:30 Challenge
5 ingredients/30 minutes
Tonight’s solution
Quick Chicken Parmesan
To make the meal
Pasta and salad
This recipe from Liz Coyle, Virginia-Highland reader and frequent contributor to the 5:30 Challenge, makes smart use of convenience products to get a meal on the table quickly while incorporating the essentials of a classic Italian favorite. With so few components, the final outcome really depends on the quality of the ingredients.
Experimenting with this recipe over the years, Coyle has developed her own brand name preferences. Tyson Southern-style chicken breast patties and Trader Joe’s arrabbiata pasta sauce are preferred at her house. The sauce is spicy, made of garlic, tomatoes and red chilies cooked in olive oil. Use whatever style pasta sauce your household prefers.
The grated cheese specified is the dry, very fine cheese in the shaker container. Adding it as you sauté the patties adds another layer of Parmesan flavor to the dish. If your package of frozen chicken breast patties contains more than 8 pieces, reserve the others for another use.
Take the 5:30 Challenge. If you have a great-tasting main-dish recipe that uses no more than five ingredients and can be made in 30 minutes or less, tell us. (Salt, pepper, water and oil for greasing a pan don’t need to be included in the ingredient count.) You can also suggest a side dish if it can be made within the same time. Send recipes with your name, address and phone number to fivethirty@ajc.com.
Quick Chicken Parmesan
Hands on: 10 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4
1 (26-ounce) bag (8 pieces) frozen Southern-style breaded chicken breast patties
1/3 cup grated Parmesan and Romano cheese
1 (25-ounce) jar pasta sauce
1 (5-ounce) package shredded mixed Italian cheeses
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Sauté 4 chicken patties until brown on one side, about 2 minutes. While cooking, sprinkle each patty with 1 teaspoon grated cheese. When first side is brown, turn patties, sprinkle browned side with 1 teaspoon grated cheese and continue sautéing until second side is brown, about 2 more minutes. Turn once more and heat for 30 seconds, then remove patties to prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining 4 patties.
When all patties are browned and removed to baking dish, leave skillet on medium-high heat and pour in pasta sauce. Scrape up browned bits and heat, stirring, until sauce is hot, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour over chicken in baking dish. Top sauce with shredded cheese. Place baking dish in oven and bake 15 to 20 minutes or until sauce is bubbling.
Per serving: 510 calories (percent of calories from fat, 58), 30 grams protein, 22 gram carbohydrates, 2 gram fiber, 32 grams fat (8 grams saturated), 68 milligrams cholesterol, 936 milligrams sodium.
