In Donata's Kitchen

Once upon a time there was a young mother who cooked on a budget. She dreamed of the day when this would no longer be the case, and once she got there, she lost her waistline.

With that said, Once Upon a Time I did draft a cookbook called Desperate for Dinner. This was when the desperate housewife thing was all the rage but the rest of us were trapped in Suburbia wondering what the hell we were going to make for dinner, with a limited budget of time and money to boot.

It feels right for the times to share these simply delicious comfort meals and the tales of harried parenthood that went with them.

So without further ado, here’s my method for making a 9×13 full of layered, baked, Chicken Parm, Garlicky Green Beans to go with it. Just note, I did not say the cookbook was good, nor edited.

Desperate tales from desperate moms at dinner time are on future posts.

Thank my daughter for the progress photos. She had asked for this recipe to make herself in her own home. I was happy to oblige.

Super Simple Chicken Parmesan

Thaw a pound of flash frozen chicken tenderloins

Cook two pounds of your favorite pasta in boiling salted water until al dente; drain and set aside.

Bread the chicken tenderloins in Italian seasoned bread crumbs and cook in a hot pan with a couple tablespoons of olive oil until firm.

In a 9×13 pan, dump the noodles.  Place the tenderloins on top of the noodle layer.  

Dump two jars (might be too much…it will depend on the mass of the noodles you’re using) of your favorite red pasta sauce over the chicken.

Spread a pound of packaged grated mozzarella over the sauce.

Sprinkle a cup of packaged grated parmesan over the mozzarella.

Cover the pan with foil and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, uncover the pan and bake for another ten or until the cheese just starts to turn golden and everything is bubbly and hot.

Garlicky Green Beans

Blanch one pound of green beans in salted water to appease your family of 5.
Sautee blanched green beans in 2 tablespoons butter until tender or crispy, the choice is up to you!
Sprinkle with garlic salt to taste

This method works for broccoli and asparagus, too!