[Collegiate Meals] Pseudo Chicken Parmesan

Miss homemade chicken Parmesan? By comparison to my family's recipe, this tastes nothing like it - but it satisfies the itch without taking much time. Plus, we don't have to fire up the stove to pan fry anything! Serve up with a wedge of Stromboli and Green Beans and you have yourself a meal :)

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While it may look "burned" to you... this is in fact how I brown my cheese under a broiler. If you don't let it get enough heat, the cheese won't change in flavor. Like meats, there's a difference between making the meat turn brown and browning your meat. If you don't let it carmelize, you might as well eat it raw ;)

Step 1 Ingredients and Cost

Chicken Patties(20): $7.99
Tomato Sauce $0.88
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese: $1.50

Gross Cost: $10.37

We will have leftover

18 Patties
7/8 a package of cheese
5/8 a jar of sauce

So the net cost is 1.32

Comments

[unbentcrayfish]

looks yummy, and can you use a differnet type of sauce?

[trebuchet03]

Go for it - then let us know what you used and if it was good :)

[unbentcrayfish]

how do you make the noodles? I see them and I don't know how to make them

[trebuchet03]

Noodles are pasta ;) I'm going to assume cooking knowledge is known (and was why it wasn't the focus of this instructable) ;) Rather than your typical sauce (tomato or cream based) it was tossed some nice olive oil (to lightly coat) and then tossed with finely grated cheese (Parmesan or Reggiano or ??? - pick your favorite). Then, some finely chopped basil on top for a little flavor and a lot of nice photo looks. If you don't have nice olive oil - you can use some melted butter.

[TheCaptain]

I just began my first year of college (literally, this was my first day), and I must say that I think I'm going to end up cooking all these meal! They sound so delicious! Thank you very much for all the time it took to make these.

[I Am An Evil Taco]

cut the pattie in half lengthwise, put some ham in, a bit of swiss on that, and some more ham on top, put the top of the pattie back on. seal the edges with some scrambled egg and bake. et voila. same thing, but it's chicken cordon bleu. Use broccoli instead of ham? Chicken Kiev. Neat idea. I hate pre-packaged anything, but anything that gets non cooks to cook chicken parm? I am all about.

[Crash2108]

I had some of those veal/chicken patties microwaved and it was surprising how crispy they were, even under sauce and noodles.

[alphagator]

Clever! I like the idea of a faux fancy meal.

[danfog]

This was nice but westfw's way was tastier and healthier, though it was more expensive. Good work on all of your collegiate meals!

[nonexplosive]

good and EASY way.. but next time try using boneless chicken brests and bread them then brown them off and bake the hole thing in the tom sauce. add other spices if you want trust me it will be better........

[trebuchet03]

From my earlier post ;)

The non pseudo version of this recipe isn't very healthy either (but probably a little better if you use something like avocado oil) :P It's beaten flat, dipped in eggs, dipped in seasoned bread crumbs and then pan fried (now we have chicken cutlets) -- then pickup with the sauce/cheese in the oven. It's not exactly friendly to most people new to the cooking for self scene - I actually taught a friend how to make pasta. Trivial I know, but if you were never shown...

The collegiate meals show somewhat dumbed down versions of traditional favorites with emphasis on cooking a small amount (usually one or two) on the cheap and fast

I've made my own recipe chicken Parmesan with my own seasoned bread crumbs etc. But it's not as fast and is a bit more expensive. Not to mention, focusing on simple methods on favorite recipes shows a specific audience that cooking for yourself is not black magic voodoo :)

I agree, the traditional method is better. But it's more expensive and not as fast :)

[Punkguyta]

Looks tasty but the burnt err browned cheese is looking a bit questionable to me. I agree with westfw, it might be better to add the sauce and cheese after or maybe at least the cheese after. Otherwise it looks good

[westfw]

If you start with a boneless skinless chicken breast, you'll have a slightly healthier and somewhat different dish. Gotta make sure you cook it all the way, though, unless you get the pre-cooked variety. That probably means cooking for half an hour or so before you put the cheese on, I think. Hmm. We need a project on collegiate cookware. The whole solution set is different if you have access to a dorm oven, or have to make do with something like an electric wok, sandwich, or coffee maker. Stoves are nice but require pans. Etc.

[trebuchet03]

Yeah.... My freshmen year on campus... nothing that has a hot surface (not even a toaster!). Microwave only. But we did have limited access to a kitchen with a stove and oven (I brought my own cast iron skillet :P)

This year (junior), I'm living off campus and have a stove and a place to hang my pots :P

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The non pseudo version of this recipe isn't very healthy either (but probably a little better if you use something like avocado oil) :P It's beaten flat, dipped in eggs, dipped in seasoned bread crumbs and then pan fried (now we have chicken cutlets) -- then pickup with the sauce/cheese in the oven. It's not exactly friendly to most people new to the cooking for self scene - I actually taught a friend how to make pasta. Trivial I know, but if you were never shown...

[Crash2108]

Wouldn't the sauce make the crust somewhat soggy? I would cook the chicken only, then add sauce and cheese.

[trebuchet03]

It didn't feel soggy to me. But you can cook separately ;) I just like to remove some of the water from the sauce.

[supes]

Great great stuff man. I am about to move out and taking notes on these things.

[trebuchet03]

:) I'm adding the "Collegiate Meals" tag to all of these to make it easier to find them all. Perhaps it would be smarter to start a group for it? Maybe some day :)

[westfw]

I made a "cooking for one" group some time ago, which is somewhat similar in concept (but less oriented to "cheap") I haven't done much with it, but your projects would fit in fine, I think.

[trebuchet03]

done :)

[dorxincandeland]

you led me to read this on carmelisation. Its interesting to consider the role science plays in a good meal.

[trebuchet03]

Whoa -- there it is :) Thanks instructables team :)

[Tool Using Animal]

True love isn't even half as good as browned cheese.

[trebuchet03]

No way!

true love == browned cheese :)

[ewilhelm]

Nice pictures!