Chicken Parmesan

This is easy, cheap and so good! Okay here goes... Sauce consisted of a can of Del Monte Spaghetti sauce from Dollar Tree and a can of S&W diced tomatoes. A couple of cloves of fresh minced garlic and a little minced onion sauteed in olive oil then add the sauce and tomatoes. I have a basil plant so I minced some of the leaves and threw it in. You could sprinkle a couple of teaspoons of dry basil (or Italian seasoning) if you don't have fresh. Let the sauce simmer while you're preparing the rest of the meal.

I got a package of 3 boneless chicken breasts from WalMart. Pound them out on a cutting board with a meat tenderizer (meat pounder, lol) until they are about a 1/2 inch thick. Whip up an egg in a bowl and sprinkle some bread crumbs on a plate. Dip the chicken breast into the egg and then into the bread crumbs generously coating it. Then saute in olive oil until golden brown on both sides.

Spray a cake pan with PAM ( or rub with a little oil) and add a little sauce on the bottom of the pan (enough to cover) then lay each chicken breast in the pan. Cover them with the remaining sauce and bake for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

While chicken is baking cook the pasta (al dente). Then drain and place it back in the pan. Add butter and toss. Cover the pan to keep pasta warm.

When chicken has baked for 30 minutes add generous hand fulls of shredded Mozzarella cheese on top of each chicken breast and bake 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted.

Place about 1/2 cup of pasta on a plate and then place a chicken breast on top and add a little more sauce! So delicious! Serve with a green salad on the side and you have an awesome cheap chic Italian meal that rivals even the best Italian restaurant in town. The best part about this entire meal is that it generously feeds a family of 4 for the same cost as one of those meals at that Italian restaurant! Bon Appetit!

Something to really think about...

What if....

What if you had to cut down every tree you need to build your house...
Would you build a 3000 SQ FT house plus a bonus and great room?

What if you had to carry all the water you needed in buckets...
Would you take a 30 minute shower?

What if you had to grow all your own food, every single morsel....
Would you throw any of it out?

What if you had to dig for every single drop of oil then refine it....
Would you drive 100 feet to the store 10 times a day?

What if you had to sew everything you wore....
Would you still need all the clothes you have?

What if an animal had to give up it's life...
And what if you had to kill that animal....
Would you still need 20 pairs of shoes and handbags to match?
Would you only eat the choice cuts of meat?

What if we all consumed as if we had to procure and manufacture everything we need ourselves?
Would you consume, use and throw out less?

I don't want to go back in time. I believe in progress but....not at the expense of my fellow humans, future humans and the planet.

Every time you get in your car or buy something or throw something out think about it. Can you do without it? Can you recycle it? Can you make it yourself?


*I got this from an awesome blog called Thistle Garden. Check it out!