Today, I am taking you on a tour of Italy with today's dish. Pack your bags.
Get excited...
Wait a minute...I just looked up the history of chicken parmesan and as it turns out....chicken parm is NOT an Italian dish! Imagine my shock...
Chicken parmesan is an American dish possibly inspired by the Italian eggplant parmesan. In which case, we won't be going to Italy today. Unpack your bags. We're going to...my American kitchen. Don't worry, it's just as exciting.
I chose to try this chicken parm recipe from Food because of its high reviews. It was really good- not overly rich. I could really taste the parmesan in the crispy crust. I am filing this recipe under Sunday dinners, however, because it seems a bit too time-consuming for a weeknight dinner. The popular chicken parm recipe by Melissa Clark, featured in NYT Cooking, is also a winner and definitely worth mentioning, but also requires time. I am currently on the hunt for easy, quick parm recipes that could work for weeknights. Ok, back to the chicken parm recipe by Food... 
I gathered together: 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, salt & pepper, 1/2 c. flour, 1/2 c. Italian bread crumbs, 1/4 c. parmesan cheese, 1 egg, 1/2 c. milk, 1 Tbs. butter, 2 Tbs. olive oil, extra parmesan cheese for sprinkling on top, 4 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, and a large jar of marinara sauce. Pick up some pasta to go with it.
"Failing to plan is planning to fail"
If you don't prepare everything in advance, cooking this dish will feel like you're doing battle with your kitchen...and losing. I'm trying to help you avoid being Jack vs. the Appliances when making this recipe. (Do you remember this scene from the 1983 movie, "Mr. Mom?") Set everything out, and do as much prep as possible before starting to cook.
Breading trays that lock together will make your entire life easier.
Two tools that came in handy were the meat thermometer and an oil splatter screen. As you're cooking the chicken, insert the thermometer into it to make sure the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees for safe eating.
S is for Summer not salmonella...
 Oil splatter shield-- keeps you safe from spitting oil and hot molten magma
It's time for today's song! I need music to get me through the dredging process. I put the chicken between two pieces of saran wrap and pounded it out to 1/4-inch thickness. The key here is to really thin out the chicken. Two of the pieces were thicker than the others and they didn't taste as good as the thinner pieces after cooking. Also, with the thicker pieces, it's harder to cook the chicken through without burning the crust. The pieces will be large after you pound them out. You could technically use just two chicken breasts and cut them each in half after you flatten them to make 4 pieces. 
Is there a support group for people who don't know exactly when to start boiling the water for the pasta? Because I could be the president of that club. I went ahead and put the water on before I filled the dredging pans.
For the pans- pan 1: flour, pan 2: egg & milk mixture, pan 3: breadcrumb & parmesan mixture. I coated the chicken with the contents of each pan, starting with the flour. 
I heated up the oil and butter over medium heat, in a large saucepan. Use the largest saucepan you own so you can fit as many pieces in as possible. Cook each side 2-3 minutes. Now is the time to grab that meat thermometer and oil splatter guard.
You may need to add a little more oil here and there.
Once the chicken was thoroughly cooked, I put the large jar of marinara sauce on top, heated it to a boil and let it simmer for 10 minutes. I then added the chicken, sprinkled it with parmesan and put the mozzarella slices on top. I covered it and let it simmer for about 8-10 minutes. Around this time is when I started screaming for help with the pasta, garlic bread and salad.
As good as they make it in Italy...I mean, America.
For a recipe card, please visit Food...they have a nice summer grilling section that you should check out also.
In the comments, tell me how you are doing! Do you have a favorite chicken parm recipe or cooking tip? Today's finds....*
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