Beginner Dinner in Under 30 Minutes: Chicken Parmesan

Even for seasoned home cooks, preparing a complete dinner every night can be a bother. Here are some tips that help me get food on the table quick. 

#1 Plan Ahead- I can't express how important it is to organize your grocery list and plan meals for the week. Put together a menu of 5 meals and add the ingredients to your weekly grocery list. Having everything on-hand for dinner gets you halfway, and having a menu planned can keep you from hitting a "frozen pizza night" road block.

#2 Go Meatless- It doesn't hurt to skip the meat some nights as meat only takes longer to cook and, usually on Saipan, it's frozen and needs to thaw. Keep your meals hearty and satisfying by replacing meat with quicker-to-cook animal products like eggs or cheese, vegetable fats such as avocado (in season now!), or complex carbohydrates such as sweet potato, taro, quinoa or beans.

#3 Prep- When I have time in the morning, I sometimes chop vegetables or prep other pieces of my plan for dinner that night. Sometimes while making dinner, I will make a large portion of a side dish, such as mashed potatoes, quinoa, or pasta and use it for two dinners.

#4 Make it a Priority- If it isn't important to you, it probably won't happen. Eating meals at home are often much healthier and much cheaper than eating out. Meals are important. Treat them that way.

Quick and Easy Chicken Parmesan Dinner 

Chicken parmesan with spinach salad and whole-wheat pasta.

These portions made two dinners, but the ingredients can easily be doubled.

Ingredients

Salad
2 handfuls of spinach (carried regularly at Joeten Susupe)
8 local cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 local avocado, sliced
olive oil
salt and pepper

Pasta
4 oz. whole wheat pasta (any kind)
Pasta sauce, canned or homemade

Chicken Parm
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, thawed
1 handful shredded mozzarella or 2 slices havarti cheese
1 small handful parmesan, shredded or grated
pasta sauce
1 egg
1 handful flour
1 handful panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
Heat-stable oil: grapeseed, sunflower, coconut (may change the flavor of the dish slightly)
Dried Italian Seasoning (optional)

Fill a medium saucepan with water and place, covered, on the stove over medium-low heat.
Meanwhile, slice the chicken breast into half of its thickness. Now you should have two thin chicken breasts pieces. Using a meat tenderizer or rolling pin, hammer the chicken pieces so they are thin and even.
Crack the egg into a small bowl and mix it a bit.
Place the handful of flour on a plate.
Place the handful of panko on another plate. Add the italian seasoning if using.
When the water on the stove is boiling, add the pasta and cover. Turn off the heat and let the pasta sit and cook for 10 minutes.
Dredge one chicken breast piece in the flour to coat. Next, dunk and flip the floured chicken in the egg and then in the panko so the breast piece is coated in panko. Repeat for the second piece.

Ready for frying

In a large frying pan, pour enough oil to coat the bottom and place over medium heat. When the oil is hot, carefully add the chicken pieces. After about 4-5 minutes, or until browned on the bottom, flip and top with a couple of spoonfuls of pasta sauce. Then divide the mozzarella or havarti and the mozzarella between the two pieces. Lower the heat, cover and let the cheese melt on top.

                             

Brown it

Sauce it

  

Melty cheese it

While the cheese is melting, drain the pasta, mix with pasta sauce and top with parmesan and divide between two plates. On the plates, arrange spinach, avocado and tomatoes and top with a small amount of olive oil and salt and pepper. Remove the chicken from the pan and let drain on a paper towel for about 30 seconds before adding to the plates. Ta da!