Breaded Garlic Chicken in Lemon-Butter Sauce

Sometimes, as a pregnant woman, I feel like I have more in common with a furniture store every day.

1. My swollen feet have the properties of a Tempur-Pedic mattress.  When I hold my finger down on the top of my foot, I remove it, and the indentation is still there.  I'm sure if you could fit a glass of wine on the top of my foot and jump on it, that wine glass wouldn't budge.  

2. I have a built-in shelf.  My kids thought it was just hilarious when my husband placed the remote on top of my big 'ol pregnant belly.  They quickly starting looking around for items to put on my built-in shelf.  By the end of it, I had a remote, two pairs of scissors, a couple small action figures, and a pen all balancing on my built-in belly-of-a-shelf.

3. As people see me, they feel inclined to touch my stomach just like people have to touch every couch, rug, and table in a furniture store.  

Furniture store or not, this chicken will blow your mind.  If you like lemon, garlic, and parsley, this recipe is for you.  I've made it twice this month (which is saying a lot for me), and I've just loved it both times. The first time I made it, we had company over, and the other husband inhaled this meal.  I mean, I sat down to eat, saw it on his plate, and one minute later, he was licking his plate clean.  The recipe says that you can serve it with rice, potatoes, or pasta, and i chose to do angel hair pasta toseed with a little of the Lemon-Butter sauce.  Good grief- it was tasty.  

 Breaded Garlic Chicken in Lemon-Butter Sauce
source: Melskitchencafe.com (I can't get enough of this woman's recipes!)

2 chicken breasts, trimmed, and halved horizontally (They seemed to thick when I didn't half them)
1 c seasoned flour (1 c flour, 1 t salt, 1/2 t pepper)
1 c Panko bread crumbs (This is a step that I added)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c fresh parsley (or 1 T parsley flakes)
2 T lemon juice
3 eggs
1/3 c grated Parmesan cheese
1 T olive oil
5 T butter

Pour 1 T olive oil and 1 T butter in a skillet over medium heat.

Place the season flour in a Ziplock bag.

 Combine the Parmesan cheese and egg in a shallow plate.

 Plop your prepared chicken breasts in the bag with the flour.  Shake it!

 Place the coated flour in the egg-Parmesan mix.  Make sure it is well-coated.

 Put the chicken in the Panko bread crumbs to coat evenly.

 Place the chicken in the heated skillet and brown both sides for 2-3 minutes per side.  A nice, light brown crust will form. The chicken does not have to cook all the way through.  It will finish cooking in the oven.

By the way, if this chicken could have sang, it would be belting out "Islands in the Stream" because this was one of the biggest chicken breasts I had ever seen.  Nice Dolly Parton chicken!

 Once they are browned, place them in a baking dish.

 In the same skillet, add the remaining 4 T of butter.  Add the minced garlic, lemon juice, and parsley.  Cook and stir over medium heat for 1-2 minutes.

 Pour the garlicky goodness over the chicken.

 Bake in a 325 degree oven for 35 minutes.

 When the chicken is about ten minutes from being finished, prepare the angel hair pasta according to the package.  Cook to al dente.

While it is cooking, melt 4 T butter.  Add 1 T minced garlic, 1/4 c fresh parsley, and 2 T lemon juice.

 When the pasta is done, add the Lemon-Butter sauce and toss well.  Serve on a plate and top with the baked chicken.

Oh, man.  I seriously love this recipe!  I've been a bit obsessed with angel hair pasta lately, too.  My kids love it, my husband loves it, and I love it.  This would be just as good with any kind of pasta or a rice pilaf with fresh parsley and sauteed garlic.