Chicken Marinara

Chicken marinara is breaded baked chicken breasts topped with marinara sauce and cheese. This dish is usually served with pasta such as spaghetti or linguini. The chicken is first fried in the pan until the breadcrumb coating is browned and then finished off in the oven. I love this method because the chicken comes out of the oven very moist. The best part about this recipe is the homemade marinara sauce. This is an excellent sauce that is made from strewed tomatoes and tomato paste. This recipe might look a little complex because of the ingredients and instructions but it is not bad. It does require a little work but this dish is bound to impress almost anyone! Enjoy.





Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup flour
2 eggs (beaten)
1 cup dry breadcrumbs
1 cup parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Oil (for frying)
1lb linguini
Marinara sauce-
2 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
3 tablespoons fresh parsley (chopped)
1 garlic clove (minced)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
6 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup onion (diced)
½ cup white wine

Cooking Instructions:


Step 1: To make marinara sauce- In a food processor combine strewed tomatoes, tomato pasta, parsley, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth. In a large skillet over medium heat add olive oil. Add onion and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the blended tomato sauce and the white wine. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 2: While marinara sauce is simmering pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken breasts between 2 sheets of max paper and pound until they are about ½ inch in thickness. In a pie plate combine bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. In a bowl beat the eggs together. In a separate pie plate add the flour .Dredge chicken breasts first in the flour, then in the egg and then in the breadcrumb mixture.

Step 3: Heat about ½ inch of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts and sauté until browned on both sides (cook until only browned, do not cook all the way through). Place chicken breasts onto a lightly greased oven safe baking dish.  Spread a thin layer of that marinara sauce over each chicken breast (continue simmer marinara sauce). Place into the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked (the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees). During the last few minutes of cooking top each chicken breast with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Step 4: While the chicken is in the oven, cook linguini according to package directions. Once chicken is done baking, serve with linguini and left over marinara sauce.