Chicken and Eggplant Parmigiana

Carbs are my nemesis.  If I could I would eat pasta, potatoes, bread, etc for every meal.  Every. Single. One.  I once did the Atkins diet.  I stuck to it for 3 weeks and I lost, like, 15 lbs.  I was also in a permanent bad mood and literally cried when I was making dinner and served Cole his dinner with rice and I couldn't have any.  Suffice it to say, that diet did not last very long (and afterwards I may or may not have gone on a carb binge, but I'm not on trial here).

Point is, I love carbs.  Therefore, I love Italian food.  Cole and I are trying to put together an Italian Feast Night with a bunch of his friends so I thought I'd practice a bit before that.  Also, Olive Garden was playing a commercial for Eggplant Parmesan and it was making me crave it like no other.  I would complement them on their advertising, but it didn't make actually come into their restaurant.  So it probably didn't work out so well for them.  I decided to make some Chicken Parmigiana also because, well, it's delicious.

Chicken and Eggplant Parmigiana

What you need:

2 chicken breasts (cut in half so they are thinner, then pounded very thin)

Eggplant (cut into approx. 1/2 inch thick rounds)

Bread crumbs (Italian style)

2 eggs (beaten)

Mozzarella cheese

Grated Parmesan cheese

Marinara sauce (store bought or homemade)

Pasta

Garlic bread

What you do:

Slice mozzarella cheese.  (I'm not sure why I felt the need to picture this, but I did.  So there you go.).  Preheat oven to 350*.  Coat chicken and eggplant rounds in eggs then bread crumbs.  Pan fry the chicken and eggplant until they are nice and crispy on each side.  Don't worry about them being fully cooked, we are going to finish them off in the oven.  Put a thin layer of marinara sauce on the bottom of glass baking dish.  Place the chicken and eggplant in the baking dish.  Pour a little more marinara sauce over the top of the chicken and eggplant, then top each one with a slice of mozzarella cheese and a bit of parmesan cheese.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is nice and bubbly.  While the chicken is in the oven cook the pasta.  Serve the pasta and marinara on the side of the eggplant and chicken.  And please, whatever you do, don't forget the garlic bread.     

I also made a yummy Caprese salad as a little appetizer because, you know, there wasn't enough cheese with dinner.