Mozzarella Chicken

I LOVE adding the cheese sauce
onto my mashed potatoes too!

Mozzarella Chicken; this recipe has been around for as long as I can remember cooking. I use to make this so much (in my life before kids over 17 year ago) that my family would say "If you are making Mozzarella Chicken again, we aren't coming over for dinner", needless to say this recipe got lost along the way. Maybe it was all those kids I had or my time just got lost and fancy recipes like this were no more.

My Mom & Dad
Summer 2010

It was my dad's birthday last month and with the theme of "saving money" I asked each of my parents to pick their favorite dinner, favorite dessert and I invited them over to my house for a birthday dinner celebration. My mom and dad's birthday is one day apart, but I wanted them each to have their own special dinner. My mom picked Lasagna and Snickerdoodle Cupcakes (both those recipes are already very popular here on my blog) and my dad said "Hey, why don't you make that Mozzarella Chicken you use to make a long time ago". I of course was happy to oblige and the recipe was just as good as I remembered, maybe even better. This will for sure be coming around a lot more often in the near future, I can't wait to have it again soon! It's absolutely scrumptious.

Mozzarella Chicken

from the kitchen of Tina Hudgens

6-9 boneless skinless chicken breast
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup butter
1 can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp dried basil
Mozzarella Sauce (see recipe below)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp paprika

Dip chicken into eggs; then coat with bread crumbs. Heat butter in large skillet until melted. Cook chicken over medium heat in skillet until golden brown on all sides. Stir in tomato sauce and basil; reduce heat to low. Cover and cook until done approx. 20-30 minutes.

Prepare Mozzarella Sauce.

Mozzarella Sauce
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne red pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup half-n-half
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat butter in small sauce pan until melted. Blend in flour, salt and red pepper. Cook on low heat, stirring constantly until smooth and bubbly, remove from heat. Stir in broth and half-n-half; then heat to a boil. Boil and stir one minute; then add shredded cheese and stir until melted.

Once chicken is completely cooked arrange pieces into an ungreased baking dish. Spoon mozzarella sauce over chicken pieces, sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese and paprika. Set oven to 550 or broil; place baking dish in oven for 6-7 minutes until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly around edges.

Here is the scrapbook page from my Family Cookbook/Scrapbook. The photo is of my sister and I in 1991 (I was 20 years old and she was 14 years old); this was about the time I found this delicious recipe.

Scrapbook/Cookbook Page from my Family Cookbook; Volume 1

I LOVE Linky Parties and it's Wednesday.... almost Friday! Come on everyone... "WE CAN DO THIS"! What a great way to mix and mingle with lots of bloggers (and find FABULOUS recipes)! Today, this recipe is linked to the following linky parties: Creative Share Wednesdays, Gold Star Wednesdays, Homemaking Link-Up, Let's Do Brunch, Living Well Wednesdays, Show & Tell, Wandering Wednesday, What's Cooking Wednesday, Works for Me Wednesday,  Whats on the Menu Wednesday, What's on Your Plate, and Make it Yours Day