Triple Cheese Chicken Parmesan

This was a deliciously cheesy (I believe I described it as "ridiculously cheesy") Chicken Parmesan recipe we enjoyed recently. Mine was actually a "quadruple cheese" because I used up a little bit of smoked gouda I also had in the refrigerator in it. It's flexible in terms of the seasonings you add to both the breadcrumbs and the flavor of the pasta sauce you use. You can play with the cheeses you use as well if you want to try different combinations to find what works best for you.

Lightly breaded chicken gets browned and then coated in pasta sauce and tucked in with a heavy bed of cheese and baked until cooked through. For me that is about as good as it gets. And this was doable on a weeknight which is also high on my "that's a good recipe" list! You can even premix the breadcrumbs the night or day before to speed the process a little if you're working on a tight schedule on a work night. I used large chicken breasts, and next time would probably cut them in half horizontally, to speed the cooking time and allow for more surface area to be coated with the bread crumbs. If I were to have cut them, I would have needed a larger baking dish to accommodate 6 pieces.

Triple Cheese Chicken Parmesan adapted from My Latina Table

Ingredients
2 - 3 chicken breasts (about 2 lbs)
1 - 2 cups of breadcrumbs
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan Cheese separated
1 egg
1 cup of milk
1 16-oz jar of pasta sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
3 - 4 Provolone cheese slices
1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese, grated
Pasta (to serve)

Directions

1. Create an egg wash station by filling a bowl with the milk and whisking in the egg.
2. In a separate bowl combine 1/4 cup of the grated Parmesan to the breadcrumbs along with the salt, pepper, paprika, and cumin. Stir to combine. (You can start with 1 cup of breadcrumbs, and if you need more as you get to the end of the chicken, add a little more to the dish, as needed).
3. Submerge the chicken breasts in the egg wash and then coat in the breadcrumb mixture.
4. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat, and coat lightly with oil. In batches, if needed, cook each piece of chicken on both sides until browned, then set aside.
5. Add about half of the pasta sauce to the bottom of a 2-quart baking dish and then lay the pieces of chicken atop.
6. Top each piece with remaining sauce (if you don't want the chicken parmesan quite so "saucy", reduce the amount of sauce placed below and atop the chicken to your desired preference).
7. Top each piece of chicken with a slice of provolone and then divide remaining Parmesan cheese and the mozzarella over the top and sprinkle with Italian seasonings.
8. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes (or until cooked through) and serve with pasta that is tossed with butter, garlic, and Italian seasoning.