Grilled chicken parmigiana

Rachel Ray gets a bad rep. Her recipes are quick and easy and usually pretty good. Sure she's not a professional chef, but neither am I. What I want is something that's pretty good, pretty easy, pretty fast and pretty healthy for my family. This recipe fits the bill. I like it because it avoids all the battering and deep frying of the traditional chicken parm while still maintaining the good flavour.

This version slightly modified from the original.

Grilled chicken parmigiana

6 thin chicken breast cutlets, about 2 lbs
Olive oil for grilling & sauteing
3 to 4 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon chrushed hot red pepper flakes
1 medium or large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 or 2 slices bacon or smoked ham
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/2 pound smoked mozzarella, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Grill the chicken cutlets on a well-oiled grill pan. A frying pan works too.

2. Meanwhile, place a medium pot on the stove over medium heat. Add some olive oil & saute the garlic, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning and onion for 10 minutes, stirring often.

3. Add the tomatoes and heat through, 2 minutes.

4. Preheat the broiler to high.

5. Layer the chicken with the tomato sauce in a casserole dish. Top the casserole with Parmigiano and mozzarella. Brown the chicken parm casserole under the broiler for 3-5 minutes.

Ray suggests using a can of "fire-roasted diced tomatoes, such as Muir Glen brand" which doesn't seem to exist in Canada. On the tv show, she suggest a bit of bacon to replace the smokiness if you can find the fire-roasted tomatoes. The smoked mozzarella really adds to the flavour and shouldn't be substituted if possible.

This recipe makes 6 cutlets but we only ate 4 at dinner. The next two days I fixed myself a couple of really nice chicken parm sandwiches with the leftovers. Yum-o!