Baked Chicken Parmesan

It is really late, and I am tired, but I made this for dinner, and I am really excited to post the recipe. I found this one through a blog... I can't remember which one, but she led me to this video recipe: http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2008/02/end-of-chicken-parmesan-as-you-know-it.html

I watched the video and immediately knew I had to try it soon. I made it today. I did half of the recipe and used an 8x8 dish. It was one of the easiest dishes I have made in a long time. And it tasted so good! Even Andy liked it. He went back for seconds!! The boys ate it too! AMAZING!!!

It is cheesy, saucy, garlicky, and the chicken was perfectly cooked. Usually when I bake chicken I dry it out. The sauce and cheese do something magical to keep the chicken good and moist.

Here's the recipe:

Baked Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
hot red pepper flakes, to taste
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (the video used 5, but they were huge!) (I used 1 1/2 lbs today)
2 cups marinara sauce (I used Meijer Three Cheese)
1/4 cup chopped basil (I used dry, and I eye balled it. I sprinkled some over the sauce)
8 oz mozzarella, shredded
4 oz Parmesan, grated
1 (5-oz) package garlic croutons

Directions:
Layer ingredients in a 9x13 baking dish. Oil and garlic combined on the bottom, then chicken, then marinara, basil, half of the cheeses, croutons, then the rest of the cheese.

Bake 350 degrees 35 minutes to 1 hour.



*NOTE* I made this again with one pound of diced chicken and it was awesome! It was much easier to serve. I made it the night before and noticed the croutons had softened up a little, but they were crispy after baking. I baked the 8x8 dish for 35 minutes and it was perfect. This time we served it over some pasta with extra sauce. Amazing!