Parmesan Chicken with Lemon Vinaigrette Spring Mix

When Justin & I started dating, he would always talk about this chicken Parmesan his mom made and I just assumed it was the classic (delicious) Italian chicken Parm dish...breaded, fried, smothered in cheese & red sauce, and served with a side of your favorite pasta. So when I had it for the first time, I was a confused when there was no cheese, sauce, or pasta...still the end result was equally as delicious as what I expected!

It turns out the "chicken Parm" Justin ranted & raved about was a Barefoot Contessa Parmesan Chicken recipe by the Barefoot Contessa (Justin's mom loves Ina Garten) that incorporated the parm in the breading and was served with a side of salad greens with homemade lemon vinaigrette. 

When I made this tonight, Justin brought up the time he made this for me on Valentine's Day about 4 years ago and he was SO proud of it! (And somehow it ended up taking him like an hour to cook and he made a giant mess, which I am still trying to understand).

Nevertheless, I promise that this is actually a very easy recipe with minimal ingredients and prep. It's light & delicious yet still a great comfort food. I've made a few alterations to the original recipe to make it a healthier, such as skipping the butter & salt, finishing the cooking by baking, and adding more lemon to decrease the amount of oil. 

This is a perfect meal to serve to really wow your guests. Just make sure you tell them you will be serving Parmesan Chicken and not chicken Parmesan. 

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken:

- 4 (about 1.25-1.5lbs) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thin-sliced 

- 1/3c flour

- 2 eggs

- 1/4c bread crumbs

- 1/4c grated Parmesan cheese

- 1tsp dried parsley

- 1tsp oregano

- 2tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Lemon Vinaigrette Spring Mix:

- 1/4c extra virgin olive oil

- 1/4c fresh lemon juice (the juice of about 3 lemons)

- Fresh ground pepper to taste (about 3-4 cranks)

- 5oz organic spring mix (or your favorite field greens)

- 1/4c shaved Parmesan cheese

HOW-TO:

Preheat your oven to 350* and coat a 9x13 cooking dish with cooking spray.

In the mean time, arrange 3 shallow bowls near each other. In the 1st bowl, add the flour. In the 2nd bowl, add the bread crumbs, grated Parmesan, parsley and oregano and mix together. In the 3rd bowl, scramble the 2 eggs together.

Take one piece of chicken and evenly coat it with the flour, then the egg, and finally the breadcrumb mixture, then place it on a plate. Repeat this with the remaining chicken.

Heat the 2tbsp of EVOO in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once it is hot, place the chicken in the pan. Cook the chicken until it is golden brown on each side, about 2-3 minutes per side. Once the chicken is done browning, arrange the chicken in the baking dish. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

While the chicken is baking, make the lemon vinaigrette by combining the EVOO, fresh lemon juice, and fresh ground pepper. In a salad bowl, add the spring mix and shaved Parmesan and then pour the vinaigrette over the greens. Toss all of the ingredients together.

Once the the chicken is done cooking, serve alongside the mixed greens & enjoy!

TIPS:

- If you can't find these thin-sliced, buy regular breasts (you will probably only need 2 if they're big) and pound them until they're about 1/2" thick.

- Make sure your bites include the chicken and greens together. The lemon vinaigrette is what really makes the flavor pop in this dish!

Nutritional Info Per Serving (recipe yields 4 servings):

Calories: 506

Fat: 29g

Sodium: 476mg

Protein: 41g

Carbs: 19g

Chicken Only:

Calories: 346

Fat: 13

Sodium: 381

Protein: 38

Carbs: 17

Lemon Vinaigrette Spring Mix Only:

Calories: 160

Fat: 16

Sodium: 95

Protein: 3

Carbs: 2