Day 26: Chicken Parmesan Rollatini with Mushroom Gravy and Creamy Parmesan Polenta and Spinach

I have enjoyed cooking since the Easy Bake Oven days when I used to forgo the instruction and try to create bite-sized masterpieces. I’ve come a long way from soupy cakes and inedible concoctions.

My sister-in-law Renee got me a subscription to Food Network Magazine and while I take issue with many of the over-salted dishes that the FN Chefs tend to demonstrate, I admit that the magazine is filled with great recipes that can help get you started.

Be forewarned: it is very rare that I stick to a recipe. There are, however, just some things that don’t pass for cooking around these parts. For example, no jarred sauce unless it is gravy, homemade and jarred for storage. No hamburger helper or any of those overly-salty and chemically-preserved convenience dishes, and ABSOLUTELY no gravy* that has not cooked for at least 4 hours (6 is better). So while this Chicken Parmesan Rollatini sounded good in theory, I could not in good conscious stick to the recipe.

I paired this chicken with polenta as suggested, but had to tie the polenta into the dish by adding unsalted butter, parmesan. and the previously seasoned and cooked mushroom juices. I also included spinach as a side as the tomatoes just were enough veggie for me.

Chicken Parmesan Rollatini with Mushroom Gravy

For Mushrooms and gravy: Use this recipe from SmittenKitchen and then add to leftover gravy or add fresh mushrooms to our Family Gravy recipe after sauteing the garlic and onions.

For Chicken

• 4 chicken cutlets
• 1 cup of mozzarella
• 1/4 cup of parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
• Kosher Salt
• Pepper
• toothpicks
• breadcrumbs (Italian Seasoned)
• 1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 400 Degrees.
2. Wash and dry chicken. I use vinegar and water to wash mine. Lay cutlets flat on paper towels and cover with another sheet to absorb all the water.
3. Combine parsley and cheese in a bowl and mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, whip egg until bubbly. In a third bowl, pour in some breadcrumbs (about 1 cup) and mix in about 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese.
4. Salt and pepper the cutlets. Place cheese mixture in the middle of each cutlet. Pull ends up to the center and use toothpick to close. Do not overfill.
5. Dip each cutlet in egg and then roll in breadcrumbs. Place in a shallow baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes.