chicken parmesan sliders

Hi!

I'm still around. Finished my 11 finals (e-le-ven) and I'm done with fake MD Rx. school for about 3 months.

I've been eating out a lot and cooking a lot of fast/easy/old favorites - not blog worthy stuff to dedicate an entire post on. That is...unless how to make fried rice and simple stir frys got really popular the 3 weeks I was away.

One of the few things I like to do during the read-straight-off-the-slide classes is think of lunch/dinner ideas on the Epicurious app. While browsing under the "I Can Barely Cook" section (it's true + I'm lazy) I chose this particular recipe for that night's dinner. It's not that sliders are difficult to make...but it does take somewhat of an effort to make. Definitely worked against my attempt to be completely lazy.

Unlike the original recipe, I used butterflied and quartered chicken breasts instead of the ground chicken. Was I going to go through the trouble of setting up 3 different stations to bread the chicken? Hell no. I just combined bread crumbs, salt, pepper and grated parmesan cheese together and coated each piece of chicken breast before frying. Weeknight meals are supposed to be easy right?

I promise the blog won't be neglected over the summer. Stay tuned okay? You can always follow me on Twitter to see what I'm eating around town or listen to other random foodbits!

Chicken Parmesan Sliders

Adapted from Bon Appétit, March 2010

Ingredients:

- 3 chicken breasts, butterflied and quartered (12 pieces in total)

- 24 slices of French bread, toasted

- 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese

- 1 cup of breadcrumbs

- 4 tablespoons of minced basil + 12 big basil leaves for later

- 3/4 cup of marinara sauce (homemade or store bought)

- 4 ounces of mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

- 12 radicchio leaves

1) Prep the chicken, slice the French bread, slice the mozzarella cheese into 12 slices, wash and tear off the radicchio/basil leaves. Set aside until needed. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2) Combine the breadcrumbs, minced basil, parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper. Mix until evenly distributed. Set aside.

3) Add the marinara sauce to a small saucepan and warm over low heat until you need it.

4) Coat each piece of chicken breast in the breadcrumb mixture. Once all of the chicken breasts have been coated, add olive oil to a nonstick pan over medium/medium-high heat and fry for about 3 minutes on the first side until golden. (Work in batches!!) Flip over to the second side and top with a slice of the mozzarella cheese. Cover with a lid and cook for 3 more minutes until the chicken's done. Remove to a plate while you finish the rest of the chicken.

5) Meanwhile, brush the French bread slices with a little olive oil and throw those suckers into the preheated oven. Toast for about 2-3 minutes until golden brown.

6) Assemble! Slice of toast, radicchio + basil leaf, piece of chicken with melted cheese, marinara sauce and another slice of toast.

7) Eat :)

It's easy, kids like it (well...my 12 year old brother does) and look at all the veggies - tomatoes, radicchio, basil and bread!! ;)

*Disclaimer - I fully understand that bread and tomato sauce doesn't count as vegetables in the normal food pyramid.