Teaching myself to cook, one recipe at a time.

Friday, August 31, 2012

Chicken Parmesan Casserole

Once again, I’m ignoring my own don’t-blog-other-bloggers’-stuff rule for this post. Chef John at foodwishes.com posted about what he called “the most popular chicken recipe video in the history of the Internet.” Um, of course I needed to jump on the bandwagon and try it for myself. And once I did, I realized that I needed to share it with you so that you will know how important it is for you to try this recipe, as well. It’s vital, actually.

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It starts out easy enough. A bit of olive oil, minced garlic, and red pepper flakes in the bottom of a Pyrex dish.

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I smeared it around with a pastry brush, then added some chicken breasts (Chef John added that you could give them a quick pan-fry first, but I chose not to dirty another dish. Sue me).

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Followed by a jar of spaghetti sauce. I used Wegman’s brand “Grandma’s Pomodoro Sauce.”

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Then some grated Parmesan cheese (I didn’t use fresh but it would have been better if I had)…

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… and grated mozzarella (same deal as with the Parmesan)…

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… topped by a bag of garlic croutons. This part is so important and awesome. Just pour the croutons on top, spread them out, and smoosh them down a bit with your hand. They will give the final product an awesome flavor and texture.

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And then top with more Parmesan and mozzarella!

And with that, they go in the oven. I used a meat thermometer to monitor the best cooking time, since it seemed that a lot of commenters had trouble with that. When it was done, this is what my casserole looked like:

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Here’s a close-up. Yummmmm.

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To serve, just try to get a chicken breast out of the dish with the cheese and croutons over it intact. Eat any stray pieces right out of the pan with your fingers.

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I served with some green beans and a garlic knot. Oh, it was so good. Those croutons added such a nice flavor and texture to the chicken. This was such a quick, easy meal, and it had such a restaurant-quality finish to it. I highly recommend that you give it a try!

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