In my quest to eat healthier, there are certain things I can’t live without. Chicken Parmesan is on the list. I love chicken Parmesan, shrimp Parmesan, eggplant Parmesan, Parmesan cheese on its own. You name it; I love it! Parmesan cheese is one of the less sinful cheeses if like me you just have to have your cheese. Over the weekend I was craving Chicken Parmesan. I wanted it but I didn’t want the guilt that goes along with it so I made some simple changes. Here they are:
1. Make your own sauce.
2. Grill your chicken.
3. Measure your cheese.
I’m not going to bore you with the details of why these three changes make such a big difference. Just think: homemade sauce is always healthier, no breading or deep-frying and measuring cheese means you won’t use the whole block even though you really want to. With these simple changes, there was no compromise on the taste either.
- Sauce:
- 1 can diced organic tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 medium onion, small diced
- 1/2 rib of celery, small diced
- 1/2 cup water
- splash of Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- salt and pepper to taste
- Grilled Chicken:
- 4 chicken breast
- 1/2 cup fresh parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- salt & pepper to taste
- Pre-heat oven on broil setting.
- Pre-heat grill.
- Cut each chicken breast in half, length wise. Repeat the process until you have 8 pieces.
- Season with thyme, salt and pepper
- Rub with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Refrigerate
- Heat olive oil. Add onions and celery cooking until onions are fragrant.
- Add all dry seasons and garlic. Cook until garlic is just fragrant.
- Add tomatoes, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and water.
- Reduce heat and let sauce simmer for 10-25 minutes.
- Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Remove from heat and cover.
- Remove chicken from fridge.
- Once grill is warm, coat with a tablespoon of olive oil.
- Add chicken breast and grill for 5 minutes per side or until cooked through.
- Transfer cooked chicken breast to broiler safe dish.
- Cover with sauce, parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
- Place in broiler for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted, just browned and bubbling.
Give this chicken parmesan recipe a try and let me know how you like it.
2 Comments
Ashley
April 2, 2014 at 12:58 AMThis looks really delicious! I need to try it out!
M J
April 2, 2014 at 7:06 PMYou know I struggle with food so I am really trying to make healthier versions for all the things I love. You are a foodie so I know you will enjoy this dish. Let me know how it turns out.