Chicken Parmesan

If there is one Italian meal that I love, it is Chicken Parmesan. It's my go to when I go to an Italian restaurant, but after I made this recipe, it has not been the same when eating out. This is just SO good.

So here we go:
Chicken Parmesan
Ingredients

• 4 Skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 eggs
• 2 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoon flour (or more)
• 1 cup olive oil (for frying)
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup mozzarella, cut into small cubes
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 cup grated provolone cheese (I threw some sliced provolone into a food processor to "grate" it)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (this is not a duplicate, just set it aside separately from your other 1/4 c.)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (again set aside, not a duplicate)

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
2. Firmly pound chicken with smooth side of meat mallet to a thickness of 1/2 inch. (I wrap mine in parchment paper to avoid chicken splatter in my kitchen). Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Beat eggs in shallow bowl, and set aside.(You will be putting your chicken in this bowl to coat, so make sure a chicken breast will fit)
4. Mix bread crumbs and 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese in separate bowl, set aside. ((You will be putting your chicken in this bowl to coat, so make sure a chicken breast will fit)
5. Place flour in strainer; sprinkle over chicken evenly on both sides. (This was a pain in the butt, but it evenly coats)
6. Dip flour coated chicken in beaten eggs. Transfer breast to bread crumb mixture, pressing crumbs into both sides. Set aside breasts for about 15 minutes.
    
   
7. Heat 1 cup olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat until it begins to shimmer. Cook chicken until golden, about 2 minutes on each side. Place on paper towels after frying to absorb extra oil. Chicken will finish cooking in the oven. If you have a second bath of chicken to fry, I recommend emptying out that oil, and reheating a new 1/2 cup so it doesn't get gross.
    
   
8.  Place chicken in baking dish and top each breast with approximately 1/3 cup of tomato sauce (essentially, just make sure you do it evenly). Layer each breast in even amounts of mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, and provolone cheese. Sprinkle 1 to 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese on top and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
    
   
9. Bake in the oven until cheese is browned and bubbly, and chicken breasts are no longer pink in the center, 15 to 20 minutes.
    
   
    
10. Goes great with a salad and some pasta! Yum!