Italian Experiment: Chicken Parmigiana

Yesterday, I received an email from Maggiano's restaurant announcing a contest. They are looking for new or updated recipes. The grand prize winner will be featured on their menu. The email started me thinking of how I could update a family favorite, chicken parmigiana. I used chicken thighs instead of breasts as they are smaller pieces of meat and also I usually can get them thinner than chicken breast. I made a double batch of marinara too. I'm planning to use the other half of the sauce next week in stuffed shells. My husband enjoyed the recipe, but said on the messy scale, it was a 10 so beware of the dishes!

Chicken Parmigiana:

6 boneless, skinless thighs
1 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup fat free milk
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup Romano cheese
1 tsp italian seasoning
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp parsley flakes
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Safflower Oil
1 lb gluten free pasta
2 cup mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 350*. Clean and pat dry the chicken Place the thighs between individual sheets of wax paper and pound thin. Mix the egg and milk together. Mix together in a shallow pan the bread crumbs and next five ingredients. Set up the flour in a shallow pan. Coat the chicken first in flour then dip in the egg mixture and finally in the bread crumb mixture. Cover the bottom of a frying pan with about an inch of safflower oil. Heat the oil over medium heat. Brown the chicken about 2 minutes on each side and then drain on paper towels. This is not meant to fully cook the chicken, just to give it color and crispness. Place the chicken on a foil lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. While the chicken is baking cook the pasta per package directions. After 20 minutes, ladle a tablespoon of marinara and sprinkle a 1/4 cup of mozzarella over each chicken cutlet. Bake for an additional ten minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve over the cooked pasta with additional marinara sauce. Enjoy!