Chicken Parmesan Roll Ups

In our household, we love Chicken Parmesan and there are so many ways to cook it. The one thing I love about these is that you have the cheesy goeyness all rolled up in the center.

I started my 12 week shred yesterday so Sunday was my last meal to be able to eat breads, pastas, processed food, etc. so why not make my last dinner full of things I will miss for awhile. I served ours over garlic and butter noodles. I also made my own marinara sauce instead of using the canned tomatoes and all that listed below.

Thanks to "The Girl Who Ate Everything" for posting this wonderful recipe.

Rolled up and topped with tomato sauce

Top with cheese/basil mixture

Top with breadcrumbs and bake

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

1 onion, chopped fine

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 can Italian style diced tomatoes, canned

1/2 cup fresh chopped basil

1-1/2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

6 thin cut boneless chicken cutlets (I used chicken breasts and cut them in half and pounded them out)

salt and pepper

1/2 cup Italian seasoned Panko breadcrumbs

*I used my own marinara sauce that I make instead of making a tomato mixture

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 475F
2. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a cooking pan
3. Add onion and cook until it has softened
4. Add garlic and cook until fragrant
5. Add tomatoes and cook until it has thickened (about 5 minutes)
6. Remove from heat and stir in basil
7. Transfer half of the sauce into a baking dish to coat the bottom
8. Combine mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and basil in a bowl. Make sure you save half of the cheese mixture
9. Season chicken with salt and pepper
10. Top chicken with cheese mixture, leaving about 1 inch from the bottom of the chicken
11. Roll up tightly and place seam side down into the baking dish
12. Toss breadcrumbs with remaining oil
13. Top the chicken that is rolled up with the remaining sauce mixture, cheese mixture, and the breadcrumbs
14. Bake for about 15-20 minutes. If your chicken is thick, it might take a little bit longer. If the breadcrumbs start to get too brown, cover with foil and continue cooking

Chicken & Pasta w/ Tomato Cream Sauce

It's been so long that I feel like I don't know how to begin posting again. I have made lots of new recipes, but always seem to forget about taking pictures so that I can post. This recipe is one that I recently watched on the cooking channel. Who doesn't love watching Ree as the Pioneer Woman?!

I've made lots of pasta recipes and I have made lots of different tomato sauces, but this one just hit the spot. I cooked some chicken with seasonings to top it off. The recipe below is just for the pasta w/ tomato cream sauce.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

2 Tbsp. butter

1 medium onion, finely diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans tomato sauce

Salt and Pepper 

Dash of sugar

1 cup heavy whipping cream

grated parmesan, to taste

fresh basil, chopped

1-1/2 lb. pasta (I usually love fettuccine, but had regular spaghetti in the pantry)

What To Do:

• Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and reserve 1 cup of pasta water
• Heat olive oil and butter over medium heat
• Add onions and garlic 
• Saute for about 2 minutes
• Add in tomato sauce, salt and pepper, and sugar to taste
• Stir and cook over low heat for 25 minutes
• Remove from heat and stir in heavy cream
• Add cheese and then check the taste; add more if necessary
• Stir in pasta and mix
• If sauce is too thick for your liking, pour in a little bit of the reserved pasta water to thin it out
• Once it is how you like it, stir in the basil
• Serve immediately