Busy Day...

I somehow managed to stay occupied all day, so now, at the end of my day I'm too pooped out to actually cook anything. I wish I could, but it tends to be too much work for me to undertake after a long day. Aside from borderline personality disorder, I also suffer from fibromyalgia. What that basically means is that, regardless of my activity level, most days I'm really friggin' sore. It's like a muscle ache but feels deeper than that, but not quite bone level. It's really weird.

So I ended up cooking myself some Lipton Rice Sides cheddar cheese and broccoli for dinner. That was good enough.

But I'd still like some Chicken Parmesan sometime soon.
It's been waaaay too long. My dad taught me how to make the sauce, although I modified the method... and the breading for the chicken, although I modified that too... and how to fry it, but I do that the way he taught me. Almost everything I know about cooking, my dad taught me. Everything I know about baking, my mom taught me. So, here's my personal recipe for chicken parmesan.

Chicken Parmesan

The sauce:
1 small can tomato paste
1 medium can tomato sauce
1 large can stewed tomatoes (I prefer basil and garlic), cut in chunks or diced
1/4 tsp salt or garlic salt (I prefer the latter)
1 tbsp. chopped garlic (I prefer fresh)
1 1/2 tsp. brown sugar
1/8th-ish tsp. pinch cinnamon*

blend all ingredients, simmering 5 minutes between adding each of the last three ingredients in succession. Leave simmer on low heat while finishing chicken.


The frying batter:
2 cups flour
1 tsp. garlic salt (blended in flour for fry batter)

3 large eggs
1/4 milk (blended with eggs for fry batter)



1 1/4 lbs chicken, cut in 3/4 thick strips

Heat 1/4 - 1/2 cups Olive Oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit - it is ready to fry when a drop of water sizzles in the pan.

Dip chicken in flour, covering all exposed meat. Dip in egg. Repeat both dips and dip once more in flour. Fry 'em up! They're done when lightly browned. (If you have a thermometer, cook to at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure that the meat is fully cooked AND flavorful.) Place chicken over cooked spaghetti or try perciatelli for a little change and cover with desired amount of sauce and desired type of cheese (I recommend Kraft 5 cheese Italian blend)




*optional but recommended

So I guess that's my blog for the day. I hope you enjoy it if you decide to cook it sometime. :)