Marinara Chicken

​It took me exactly 24 hours after receiving my new Cooking Light magazine to make my first recipe out of the new issue. The pages of my magazine weren't even wrinkled yet.  This recipe for Crisp Chicken Marinara was exactly what I had been craving for dinner.  I had never cooked chicken marinara like this before and I was surprised how easy it was.  

I made some baked zucchini sticks to go along with my chicken marinara. I'll post the recipe for the zucchini sticks on tomorrows blog - you won't want to miss it. 

Marinara Chicken
2 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup red wine
1 1/2 cups low sodium marinara
1/3 cup pitted olives, chopped
5 Tablespoons water
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 egg, beaten
2 ounces Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

​Heat 1 Tablespoon oil in saucepan. Add onion and carrot and saute 3 minutes.

​Add garlic and saute 1 minute longer. Add wine and cook 2 minutes.

​Stir in marinara sauce, olives and 1/4 cup water.

​Reduce heat to medium and simmer 10 minutes.

​Nestle chicken in sauce. Cover and simmer 15 minutes.

​Remove chicken from pan.

​Combine remaining 1 Tablespoon water with egg in a shallow dish. Grate 1 ounce of cheese into panko bread crumbs.

​Coat chicken in egg mixture and dredge in panko.

​Heat remaining 1 1/2 Tablespoons oil in skillet. Place chicken in pan and saute 2 minutes until lightly browned. Turn chicken over and place skillet in oven, under broiler for 3 minutes.

​Top with additional marinara sauce and remaining cheese. Serve with orzo, pasta or quinoa pasta.
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​The chicken marinara was a big hit. It was pretty much the reverse of most chicken Parmesan recipes. Cooking the chicken in the marinara sauce kept it moist and flavorful. Breading the cooked chicken and then just browning it quickly in the skillet really cut down on the amount of oil that was needed. I was a big fan of the semi-homemade marinara sauce. The salty olives and the red wine added a nice depth of flavor to the sauce. It was delicious. 

Ciao!

Click here for a printable version of this recipe