Valentine's Day Chicken

My cousin Kiley and I are extreamly close! I am an only child, but have considered her to be my "sister" for longer than I can remember. The first Valentine's Day that I was married to my husband Matt, Kiley and her husband Tony decided to come up to our house for a long weekend. While many couples make reservations and go out to eat, Kiley and I were not fans of a busy resturant and having to scream at our husbands for them to hear us. So we decided we could just cook dinner ourselves :) We chose this chicken recipe from a Rachael Ray cookbook and have named it Valentine's Day Chicken with the loving memories of the fun we had together that Valentine's Day weekend.

What you'll need:

4 chicken breasts

1/2 cup Better Batter (Gluten free) flour

2 eggs

1/2 cup gluten free bread crumbs (wegmans)

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Garlic powder

Zest of 1 lemon, and juice

Olive oil

1) After cleaning your chicken breasts, butterfly cut them down the center. Flatten each piece chicken by pounding it to 1/4 inch thick. I use a rolling pin :)

*butterfly cut--take a knife and cut down the center of your chicken half way through

2) Take 3 bowls. In bowl #1 put your flour. In bowl #2 beat 2 eggs. In bowl #3 combine your bread crumbs, parm-regg, garlic powder (to taste), and lemon zest.

3) Heat a large pan over med/high heat. Drizzle some olive oil. While oil is heating up, take your chicken and dip it into bowl #1, then #2, and finally #3. Place chicken into the heated pan and cook one side at a time. This usually takes about 5-6 minutes per side.

*I always choose the thickest chicken and cut it in half to make sure it is always cooked through. No one wants salmonella!!

I usually make homemade french fries and corn to go with this one. French fries and corn are two of Matt's favorite foods, so of course to show my love on Valentine's Day, I made him exactly what he wanted :0)