With tuition and other expenses, eating out can be out of the picture for college students. Sometimes, you just want to eat something at home and save a bit of money. Eating out can be tempting in the short term, but what could be better than preparing a home cooked meal that you can stretch for days?
This recipe is from a website called BudgetByte$ by Paige Rhodes. This chicken parmesan will cost around $61.27, but there will be leftovers, making the price around $10.61 per serving. Plus, you don’t even need an oven for it! Everything can be made on a stovetop and in a single pan.
All of the ingredients I purchased for this recipe are from King Soopers, but you can realistically buy these ingredients from any grocery store.
Ingredients:
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts ($11.58)
- 1 cup of breadcrumbs ($2.99)
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese ($2.89)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder ($3.99)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning ($10.49)
- 1 teaspoon salt ($1.89)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper ($3.29)
- 1 egg ($7.49)
- ½ cup flour ($4.99)
- ¼ cup neutral cooking oil ($5.99)
- ½ marinara sauce ($3.19)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella ($2.49)
Directions:
To start off, cut the chicken breasts lengthwise to make cutlets. You can also buy pre-cuts if preferred.
Season both sides of the chicken with salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning and garlic powder. I have found that rubbing the seasoning into the chicken makes it soak in the flavor a lot more than just having it sit on top.
In a shallow plate or bowl, mix up the breadcrumbs, parmesan, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and some black pepper. This will be used to coat the chicken.
In a second plate, whisk the egg until fully blended.
Finally, in a third plate, add the flour.
Dredge the chicken into each of the three plates. I recommend lining up each of the plates in the order that you will be dredging the chicken: flour, egg, and then the breadcrumbs. Make sure to coat both sides of the chicken so that it is completely covered in the flour, egg and breadcrumb mixtures.
Heat a large skillet on the stove top with cooking oil, waiting until it is hot enough to place the chicken in — about medium heat. When the chicken is in, cook the first side until it’s nice and golden brown. This will take about 5 minutes.
Flip the chicken after 5 minutes and turn the stove to medium so as not to burn it. Top each cutlet with the 2 tablespoons of marinara sauce and the ¼ cup of shredded mozzarella cheese. Place a lid on the skillet to allow the cheese to fully melt, the sauce to warm up and for the chicken to cook all the way though. This will take between 5 to 7 minutes.
You can enjoy this with either some plain spaghetti or by itself. Either way, it is a great comfort dish to have on a cold day or if you are just craving some Italian food at home. Now you know how to be a bonified chef at home, without spending money on cooking school!
Chicken parmesan. Photo by Clark Douglas on Unsplash.