Chicken Parmesan

Now this is home comfort food. I would do this any day of the week, 45 minutes from start to finish - 15 minutes for prep, 30 minutes or so for baking.  My weekly meal planning email from SO said "chicken parmesan" for Thursday. It was 5:15pm already, SO was due home by 6pm.  Small problem, forgot to take the chicken out of the freezer. I hate that. Oh well, run it under water for a bit, then defrost in the micro for a while.

Also, I love pounding meat. Ahem. Chicken breasts come so gigantically huge these days, thinning them out makes them cook much faster anyway. I found that sticking each one in a small ziplock is a great way to reduce mess. There is also plastic wrap, but I find that is messy to reuse. I also enjoy breading things. Chef Michael Smith always talks about alternating dry and wet layers - that works great. In this case, I started with flour with salt & pepper, then eggs mixed with some milk, then bread crumbs mixed with some spices like oregano, parsley, garlic and onion powders, and a bit of paprika. Bake, throw some cheese on top, back in for a bit, then serve on pasta. Voila.

Chicken Parmesan

Next Time: well I may fancy it up with home made sauce, or maybe a sharper cheese. Maybe a different type of pasta.

Me: 7.5/10
SO: 8/10
SSO: 6/10

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Everyone has made countless versions of this. A.K.A. Bolognese sauce, to do a "proper" version usually requires browning meat and simmering for several hours.  However, families in a rush for their supper on a Tuesday night don't have 2-3 hours for this. You could open a can of Hunt's or whatever, but we don't have to stoop that low. You can get away without browning for starters. It does add a depth of flavour but you can (somewhat) substitute some minced bacon. As for the multiple hours of cooking, that is partly to fully release all the flavours blah blah, and partly to soften the meat which you probably just charred up during the browning process. Why not just omit the browning and simmer for 15 minutes? Works pretty darn well actually.

Meat sauce simmering away

Another secret to quick flavour here is sticking the veggies in the food processor. Once they are almost mushy, it will saute in no time flat. So two pots, 5 minutes of prep, and maybe 15 minutes cooking and you are done.

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Next Time: Well there is always the using fresh pasta thing.

Me: 8/10
SO: 8/10
SSO: 4/10