Chicken Parmigiana and Zucchini Parmigiana

We had Johnny's coworker Goran over for "Dinner at Christina's," so I wanted to make him an authentic Italian meal.

I made a big pot of sauce, but this time I got to use some fresh herbs from Johnny's mom's garden, instead of all dried options.

Next, I sliced one zucchini from Johnny's mom's garden and layed the pieces out on a plate and salted them.

I thawed a 2 lb. package of chicken breasts from the freezer and pounded them out to about 1/4" thick in between plastic wrap. They were the big, thick breasts, so when I started pounding the chicken tender from underneath sort of became it's own separate part. We ended up with 3 small chicken pieces and 3 very large chicken pieces.

I brought about 1/2" of vegetable oil up to temperature in a high sided skillet to fry the zucchini and chicken in.

I started with the zucchini:

1 medium zucchini, sliced and salted
seasoned, beaten eggs
seasoned flour

Wet the zucchini with the egg mixture first, and then dredge in the flour, knocking off any excess. Then, everybody into the oil until they're lightly browned and crispy on either side.

After they were done, I moved them to a paper towel to drain and then into a casserole dish with some sauce on top and a mixture of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese sprinkled over.

Next was the chicken:

2 lbs. thinly pounded chicken breasts
seasoned flour
seasoned, beaten eggs
seasoned breadcrumbs of choice (I used panko)

Dredge the chicken in the flour, knocking off any excess and then into the egg bath. Last, into the bread crumbs and then in the oil. Cook for a few minutes on each side until the breading is browned and crispy.

Move to a paper towel to drain, then lay on a foil-covered baking pan and top with the sauce and mozarella and Parmesan cheese mixture.

Both dishes went into a 350° oven for about 10 minutes or so, and then under the broiler for a minute or two.

You can serve with extra sauce or spaghetti, but we just ate as it was and it was delicious (if I don't say so myself)!