Creamy Italian Chicken

This chicken dish comes together very quickly and combines the typical Italian ingredients of tomatoes, basil, and Parmesan cheese. For this recipe, the canned variety of Parmesan cheese works great since it is finely grated and melts into the sauce well. If you prefer, you can use the more traditional Parmigiano-Reggiano, just make sure you grate it for better melting.

Ingredients:

¼ cup heavy cream

1 cup bread crumbs

¼ t salt

¼ t onion powder

⅛ t pepper

4 boneless chicken breasts, pounded to even thickness

3 T butter

1 cup chicken stock

1 cup heavy cream

1 can petite diced tomatoes, mostly drained of liquid

½ cup Parmesan cheese

¼ cup chopped fresh basil

½ t salt

¼ t onion powder

¼ t pepper

Directions:

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 1½ tablespoons of butter and let melt.

Place ¼ cup heavy cream in a shallow bowl. In a separate shallow bowl, mix together bread crumbs, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon onion powder, and ⅛ teaspoon pepper.

Dip chicken into cream then in bread crumb mixture, pressing to help bread crumbs adhere to the chicken.

Place chicken in skillet with melted butter and cook about 5 minutes. Add remaining 1½ tablespoons butter to skillet and flip chicken. Cook about 5 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

Add chicken stock to skillet and scrape to remove any browned bits from the pan. Bring to a boil, then stir in 1 cup cream, tomatoes, Parmesan, basil, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon onion powder, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook and still about 3 minutes, until heated through.

Add chicken back to skillet with cream sauce and spoon sauce over chicken. Let cook an additional minute or two before serving.