Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Parmesan

Adapted from thecozycook.com

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cups shredded, part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/4 + 2 tablespoons  shredded or grated parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt or kosher salt
• Freshly cracked pepper
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups marinara sauce

Instructions

• Pre-heat oven to 400-F.

• Stuff the Chicken (original recipe has demo photos)
  1. Pat the chicken dry.
  2. Cut a slice in middle of each chicken breast to create a pocket, don’t cut all the way through to the other side.
  3. Stuff each one with 2-3 tablespoons of mozzarella.

• Bread the chicken
  1. Create an assembly line for breading the chicken:
     • Plate #1: 1/4 cup flour + 1 seasoned salt + pepper.
     • Bowl #2: Whisked egg + 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
     • Plate #3: 1/2 cup breadcrumbs + 2 tablespoons parmesan
  2. Coat the chicken in the flour mixture and tap off excess.
  3. Dip into the egg; let the excess drip off.
  4. Press to coat both sides in the breadcrumb mixture.

• Brown the chicken
  1. Heat the oil and butter in a 12-inch pan over medium heat. If you don’t have a large enough pan to fit all 4 breasts, cook them in batches.
  2. Cook until the chicken is golden brown, flip and repeat. Each side should take about 2 minutes (the chicken will still be raw in the middle).
  3. Remove from heat and place the chicken on a paper towel lined plate. Wipe out the pan before returning the chicken to transfer chicken to a casserole dish.
  4. Spoon marinara sauce around the sides and on the top.
  5. Sprinkle generously with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

• Place the skillet in the pre-heated oven and bake for 20 minutes.