Mexican Style Chicken "parm"

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 24 ounces canned chopped tomatoes or 24 ounces jarred tomato puree
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 large garlic cloves, smashed
• handful fresh cilantro, rinsed well to get rid of any sand
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 serrano peppers or 2 jalapeno peppers, pulp and seeds removed, chopped
• 1 lime, juice of
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup water
• kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
• 2 lbs chicken breasts, pounded thin (4-6 breasts)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 cup vegetable oil (divided 1/2 and 1/2) or 1 cup canola oil (divided 1/2 and 1/2)
• kosher salt and pepper
• 8 ounces mexican-style shredded cheese
• 1 cup green onion, chopped
• sour cream and your favorite mexican rice (optional)

Recipe

• 1 prepare the mexican red sauce:.
• 2 add the first 10 ingredients to a large food possessor and puree until well combined. add pureed sauce to a medium-size pot equipped with a lid. stir in olive oil and water and turn on the heat to medium. bring sauce to a light boil. once boiling, turn down the heat to low/simmer, cover and cook sauce 10-15 minutes. turn off heat, stir, salt and pepper to taste.
• 3 prepare the chicken:.
• 4 preheat oven to 400 degrees f.
• 5 set out 3 shallow bowls on your counter top. place flour in one, beaten eggs in the second and panko, garlic powder, chili powder, onion powder, cumin and paprika in the third.
• 6 place a large frying on your stove top. place 1/2 cup of oil in the pan and heat over medium heat. salt and pepper your chicken.
• 7 in batches, dredge pounded chicken breasts in flour (shaking off excess), dip in the egg, then coat in the panko mixture.
• 8 place coated chicken in frying pan and fry, flipping once, until lightly browned on each side, about 2 minutes per side. (add the additional 1/2 cup of oil midway through frying to continue cooking the chicken -- just be sure to allow the oil to heat up again before adding the second batch of chicken.).
• 9 once all the chicken is fried, place chicken in a roasting pan, cover with desired amount of prepared mexican red sauce, top with desired amount of cheese and place in the preheated oven about 5-10 minutes (depending on thickness of chicken).
• 10 remove from the oven and serve mexican-style chicken parm over mexican rice, top with chopped green onion, sour cream and tortillas on the side if desired.