Skinny Chicken Parm

The first weekend of June has come and gone. For the majority of you, I doubt this holds much significance at all. If you are like us though, it means one thing: the CFA test I, II or III. I am going to take just a minute and be a relationship-sappy-goober to say that Max Man is the most hard working and determined individual I know for all that he puts into this test. To watch him prepare for it all through the spring months, beginning in February and right up until that first weekend in June, it is some serious dedication! I, on the other hand, was a crammer all through school, the art of "studying" was not my thing. I would skip class to go to my internships, let me work and do all the hands-on learning. So I'm kinda in awe by this person because it is just something I could never do. To see such dedication and follow-through, it's a good quality in a man ;-)

Ok, I'll stop now.

Anywho, each year for this test, I want to make sure that Mr. Max has a meal of sustenance the night before. In the past, it has been his favorite, chicken curry, but this year he asked if I had a recipe for chicken parmesan, one of his rotating Italian restaurant favorites. 

Side story: there was this time he had the idea to make it for dinner one night. I asked if I needed to pick anything up on my way over, he said no, he had everything. I got there. The version of chicken parm was chicken covered in pepper jack cheese, baked. I teasingly brought this up, he didn't really understand why it was funny. "It was cheese baked on chicken," - I give up.

Here's my problem with chicken Parmesan: it can be really fatty, high in carbs and calories. I recently found a "skinny" version in one of my Gina's blog. From SkinnyTaste,  this recipe includes 224.5 calories, 8.6g fat, 25.1g protein, 14.2g carbs and 1.3g fiber per serving.

Grocery List:

• 2 chicken cutlets
• 3/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
• Oregano, basil, garlic powder, to taste
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 3/4 cup reduced fat mozzarella
• 1 cup marinara

I cooked over at Max Man's place and had a very challenging time due to the lack of appliances available so I gave up on the pictures. Start by preheating the oven to 450 degrees and spray a baking dish with cooking spray. Using a pastry brush, or in my circumstance this time around, a spoon, coat each side of the chicken with olive oil.

In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs with the grated parmesan. Add sprinkles or pinches, what your tastes prefer, of dried oregano, basil and garlic salt. Dip the coated chicken in the breadcrumb mixture and place in the baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes in the oven. Flip the chicken over and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with the marinara sauce, followed by the shredded mozzarella. Bake an additional 5 minutes until the cheese is melted and slightly browned.

Served with a simple spaghetti and garlic roasted broccoli!

For an even lower carb recipe, you could skip the breadcrumbs altogether and pan-sear your chicken on the stove. Sprinkle it with oregano, basil and garlic salt then finish cooking in the oven, waiting until the last 5 minutes to top with marinara and cheese.