We talked about getting a dutch oven for a long time. Since it finally decided to be summer this week, it was the perfect time to start cooking outdoors! And our friends next door just got one and had us over for some apple crisp…so I bought a dutch oven yesterday! I took it home and busted out my volcano stove (that I bought a couple of years ago and had never used), and I made a delicious dinner! I know it’s easy to burn food in a dutch oven, so I was worried that I would ruin dinner, but it turned out awesome. If I do say so myself. Modified this recipe to fit our family.
Chicken Parmesan
12″ dutch oven
2 Tbs. oil
1 (26 oz.) jar pasta sauce
2 large chicken breasts pounded to even thickness, cut in half
1-1 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbs. milk
1/3 cup flour
shredded mozzarella cheese
Hot cooked pasta (I used thin spaghetti)
In a shallow bowl combine the bread crumbs, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. In another shallow bowl, combine the egg and milk. Put the flour in another shallow bowl. Coat each piece of chicken in flour, then in the egg, and finally in the crumb mixture.
Heat the oil in a dutch oven over a full spread of coals. Add the chicken to the pot and brown on both sides until almost cooked through. Remove from the pot and keep warm. Wipe out the pot with paper towels to remove any excess oil. Pour pasta sauce in the bottom of the pot and then place the chicken in the sauce. Sprinkle with cheeses. Cover and bake at 350° for about 30 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted. Use 1 1/2 rings on top and 1 ring on the bottom. Serve over hot cooked pasta. Serves 4.
*Okay, so I didn’t do it exactly the way they did it. With three small kids running around, I cooked the chicken inside on the stove so I didn’t have them climbing all over me next to a hot dutch oven. I browned my chicken, and then added it to my pasta sauce that I already had warming over the coals. And then it was done in 10 or 15 minutes…didn’t take the full 30. I’m sure it was because I used my volcano stove, which requires less fuel. I just wish they would give a ballpark as to how much less! It will take some experimenting. However, I thought full coals and less time worked well for this recipe, the chicken was perfect! Tender, juicy, delicious!
*I used 24 coals…14 on bottom, 10 on top. Which is not the way the recipe says to do it. Oops. When they say rings of charcoal, I don’t know how many they mean. I am a total newbie!
