Easy Parmesan Chicken

omg.

This weeks "Crock Pot Monday" happend to coincide with one of my favorite holidays... VALENTINE'S DAY. I know people like to call it "singles awareness day," or some other bs, but me and my 20 closest girl friends saw the Justin Bieber movie in 3D and ate heart shaped pizzas. Anyways, this was all on Sunday so for Monday I decided to make one of my favorite dishes, Chicken Parmesan. I never really make it (as in I've never made it...) because I am way too lazy to cook chicken, and I also have a fear of salmonella poisoning so every time I do cook chicken, it ends up so dry you have to drink water to wash it down. My roommate can attest to this. And here comes ANOTHER reason why I love the Crock Pot. I am never worried about dying a horrible slow death from food poisoning because its been cooking for 7 hours and thats a really long time so it should be cooked thoroughly. 

I used the Crock Pot Recipe Collection cookbook once again and once again it did not fail me. Also, they did not lie when they put "Easy" in the title of the recipe. 

Here are the ingredients: 

Nothing hard to find OR expensive here!

The first thing you do is chop the onions into thin wedges. The recipe also calls for mushrooms, but I find mushrooms revolting and confusing so I left them out. 

Aren't you glad I added a picture so you can see what "thin wedges" look like...?!

Next you heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it gets hot. I'll be honest, I didn't wait for it to heat up and it was fine... Lightly brown the chicken on both sides and then put it in your Crock Pot on top of the chopped onions (and mushrooms if you added them, ew) 

brown!

Then you pour the pasta sauce over the chicken and add basil, oregano and a bay leaf on top. I don't have bay leaves so I didn't add it in. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours, or until chicken is cooked. Take out the bay leaf and throw it away. 

yum! and dont you love my Hello Kitty toaster peeking out from the back?

Also, my Crock Pot has this fancy timer thing on the outside which is really great and fun to look at. I know not all of them have them, but I would recommend getting one with the "Countdown Timer" on it.

After it has cooked for the correct amount of time, sprinkle chicken with parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese. Cook this, uncovered, on LOW for 15-30 minutes or until the cheese is all melted. Serve over spaghetti. 

I forgot to take a picture before serving... Here is the melted cheese in case you aren't sure what it looks like.

The Verdict:

THIS WAS THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER MADE IN THE CROCK POT OR ANYWHERE. When I ate the leftovers by myself, it was like I was a savage beast that had never eaten food before. It was seriously so good and the onions were cooked to perfection and I just... can't... even... explain. It was amazing. So amazing that I am currently making it again even though I just had it 2 days ago and it is Thursday, not Monday. Actually, I had my cooking challenged friend Samantha make it all on her own and she did great! She just cooked pasta for the first time a few weeks ago so this really proves how easy this recipe is. 

This picture doesn't do it justice. It was sooooo good. 

The only thing that would've made it better was if I had used my Grandma Grace's marinara sauce. This can be purchased at my aunt and uncles store in Shell Beach, CA called DePalo & Sons. They also have  lots of other yummy Italian goodies! 

And if you happen to be interested in LA or live there and want some recommendations for places to eat, things to do and people to see you should follow/read my friend Morgan's blog City Wayfaring. 

Overall, this recipe was amazing and I think everyone should make it!

Easy Parmesan Chicken

Crock Pot Recipe Collection

Ingredients: 

• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• 1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 jar (26 ounces) pasta sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Hot cooked spaghetti

Directions:

1. Place mushrooms and onion in Crock Pot slow cooker.
2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Lightly brown chicken on both sides. Place chicken in Crock Pot slow cooker. Pour pasta sauce over chicken; add basil, oregano and bay leaf. Cover; cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours or on HIGH 3 to 4 hours, or until chicken is cooked through. Remove and discard bay leaf.
3. Sprinkle chicken with cheeses. Cook, uncovered, on LOW 15-30 minutes or until cheeses have melted. Serve Over spaghetti.

Makes 4 servings.