parmesan chicken with garlic and red pepper pasta

I’ve got to say, Suzy is the master of throwing together a simple but delicious dinner. This afternoon, she just called her sister, got a recipe from her, and picked up what we needed at the store. And here’s the result:

The dish was oven-fried parmesan chicken, with pasta tossed in garlic and red pepper flake infused olive oil, and it was, as my friend Emily says, AH-mazing! The pasta was a perfect balance of the slightly sweet garlic with a little kick from the red pepper flakes and a refreshing flavor from the parsley. The chicken was moist and tender, because all the juices had been sealed in by the bread crumb mixture coating it. It had a great crunch to it, and the parmesan and panko added not only texture but also layers of flavor – the saltiness of the cheese, refreshing parsley, the richness of the butter, all wrapping the savory chicken breasts.

Super simple. Super delicious. I've included the recipe in case you want to try it for yourself. Let me know if you like it, or if you have any suggestions for modifying the recipe.

Garlic Sauce for Pasta

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

4-5 cloves of garlic, minced finely (we love garlic, but you don't have to add this much if you don't want to)    

1/2 teaspoon parsley

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 cup reserved pasta water

Grated parmesan cheese, to taste

1 lb pasta of your choice (we used gluten-free linguine)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a nonstick pan, add remaining ingredients excluding water, and sauté on low until the garlic is tender but not browned.

2. Prepare the pasta according to package directions (don't forget to add lots of salt to the water while it is starting to boil). Once the pasta has cooked, add to the pan with reserved liquid.

3. Toss over medium heat until thickened. Sprinkle with parmesan, if desired. 

Oven-fried Parmesan Chicken

Ingredients:

1 Cup panko bread crumbs

2/3 cup of grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup of parsley

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup melted butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Combine bread crumbs, cheese and parsley.

3. Dip chicken in melted butter, then roll chicken in the bread crumb mixture (a lot of times I have extra mixture left over, so I will double dip the chicken).

4. Place chicken in a greased baking dish (we used a 9x13 in glass casserole dish).

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.