BAKED PARMESAN CHICKEN

There is nothing better than a quick dish that tastes delicious and looks festive...like you can serve it to company and feel good.  Pinterest had a couple of versions of this recently.  I have made it several times and made some good improvements.  My picky husband thinks it is "very good" and that means a lot.  My dinner guests last week wanted the recipe so here it is.

4 large chicken breasts cut  into 3 pieces each or 12-14 chicken tenders.  Pound to an even 3/4 inch thickness.  Place on a greased cookie sheet.

Mix together: 

1 C. real mayonaise

2/3 C. coarse grated Parmesan 

1/2-1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 tsp. dry basil leaves or 2 T. chopped fresh

1/2 tsp. celery salt

Generously cover each chicken breast with the mayo mixture spreading to the edge.  Break up a thick slice of hearty bread in a food processor and chop into crumbs.  Toss with 1 T. melted butter.

Sprinkle a little on top of each breast.  Preheat ( important) the oven to 500 degrees and bake for 10 minutes.  If it is browning well you could leave it 5 minutes more at this temp...if not turn on the broiler for 5 minutes more but not too close to the element.  The meat is thin enough that it bakes very quickly at this high temperature and is the secret to a moist piece of chicken. 

Notes:  One of the recipes that I took this from had you bake it at 375 for 45 minutes.  It was nice and brown but dry as a bone.  We didn't like it near as well as the hot quick cook.  Also the first time I made it I crushed up some dry croutons for the top but they were just too gritty to be delicious.  The soft bread crumbs work better but you could use no bread crumbs as it still browns nicely. 

This is very nice because you can prepare everything and wait until your guests arrive before you place it in the oven.

Creamed Asparagus on mashed potatoes is one of my favorite side dishes and lovely with this.  (This photo is of the cremated version.  It looks good but too dry.)