Lemon Breaded Breast of Chicken

I have a dear friend who is famous for her lemon breaded chicken. She makes tons of it every year for her Fourth of July party and it’s one of the first things to go. I’ve never tried her special recipe because I know mine would never taste quite like hers. But today I decided to try my own variation and it was pretty darn good! I served it with Amish noodles in a creamy chicken sauce. It’s what was for dinner tonight.

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (cut each in 2 and butterfly)

2 T olive oil

1 1/2 cups bread crumbs (home made are best)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 generous T lemon pepper

2 cloves fresh garlic

1/2 cup fresh parsley

salt and pepper

2 eggs

1 cup flour

2 T butter

4 lemon slices

Preheat your oven to 350.

Save your stale bread; that good crusty loaf that you didn’t finish makes the best bread crumbs for breading, topping Mac and cheese, etc etc. For this recipe cube your bread and run it through your food processor. After the first run through measure out 1 1/2 cups of crumbs and put them back into the processor along with the garlic cloves and parsley. Process once more and then put them onto a plate. Grate your Parmesan cheese and add it to the bread crumbs as well as the lemon pepper and toss to combine.

Get out a casserole dish and spread the olive oil in the bottom. Dip your chicken pieces first into the flour that you’ve added a little salt and pepper to, then the egg that you have lightly whisked, and finally the bread crumbs. I like to do this whole process with my hands but if you like you can use tongs and keep your fingers from getting gooped up. Lay the breaded chicken pieces in your greased casserole dish. Put a small pat of butter on top of each piece of chicken as well as a thin slice of lemon.

Bake at 350 for about 30-40 minutes or until chicken is 165 degrees. Bake time depends on the thickness of your chicken pieces but don’t over bake or your chicken will be dry.

I always like to have cranberry sauce with chicken dishes but I didn’t have any. That’s the next canning project! There will be plenty of fresh cranberries in the grocery soon and I’ll be grabbing up lots of those. The noodles sounded good tonight but any sides would go well with this dish.

Tip: I ended up with a few extra cups of breadcrumbs today. I put them in quart freezer bags, get as much of the air out as possible and I freeze them. I can take them out another time when I need them for topping a casserole or a vegetable dish. Just toast them on top of your stove in a skillet with a little butter. Good food is a terrible thing to waste.