Chicken Parmesan Strips with Marinara Sauce

These are as fun to make as they are to eat! The nice thing is that they really do only take half an hour to make with very minimal prep work. It's a lot less stressful to eat dinner when you don't need to worry about taking a long time to do it. A word to the wise: make sure you use regular Olive Oil. Since extra virgin olive oil has a low smoking point, it burns REALLY quickly. And if the oil gets too many burnt pieces, change it. It's not very tasty to eat chicken strips with burnt fingers.

This technique is perfect for regular fried chicken or fish strips, just omit the Parmesan for a more simple dish. YUM!!

Chicken Parmesan Strips & Marinara Sauce (from 30-minute suppers, America's Test Kitchen)

Sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can 14.5oz Petit cut diced tomatoes, without seasoning
fresh basil, torn or very roughly chopped (not too chopped, the leaves bruise easily)
salt and pepper

1. Heat olive oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. When oil is shimmering, add garlic, and stir until fragrant (about 1 minute). Add tomatoes and allow to simmer 3 minutes, until thickened slightly. Add basil and stir one more minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat, cover and keep warm.

Chicken Strips:

4 chicken breast cutlets, sliced in 1/4 inch pieces
salt and pepper
1 cup flour
2 large eggs, beaten well
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 cup olive oil

1. Make 3 stations with medium bowls: first station, flour; second station, eggs; and third station, panko tossed with parmesan cheese. Pat chicken strips dry and season with salt and pepper.

2. In batches, coat chicken in flour shaking off excess, dip in egg draining off excess, and dredge in panko mixture. Heat oil on medium high, and pan fry chicken in batches about 1 1/2 minutes. Place on plate with paper towels, and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve with marinara sauce and steamed veggies.