Oven-fried Chicken Hero with Mushroom Gravy

Tools: 1 cutting board 1 baking pan or sheet, 1deep sauce pan, 1 spoon, 1 whisker, long cooking fork, plate or cutting board for bread crumbsIngredients:   Serves one or two people

•  1 chicken cutlet cut into slices serves 2 people, clean trim and marinate in fresh Lemon and fresh garlic Tip: leave overnight or 15 minutes before cooking so that the breadcrumbs won't fall apart
• Italian or French Bread, Gluten Free highly recommend
• 1 tablespoon of Fresh Parsley Tip: leave frozen for a longer life
• McCormick Mushroom Gravy sauce
• 2 small mushrooms, any kind
• 1/3 Red onions, sliced
• 2 or 3 slices of reduced fat Mozzarella cheese
• Bacon Bits (optional) substitution for fried bacon
• Fresh tomato slices very thin (optional)
• 1 egg
• 1 package of Shake and Bake Extra Crispy

Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Beat egg and dip the chicken in it, making sure it is coated thuroughly, then coat chicken in bread crumbs, patting it down with your fork and placing each one  on a baking pan.  Tip Reminder: Allow the chicken to sit breaded for about 15 minutes, while you work on the gravy. This tip will allow for the bread crumbs to stay in place while your baking; or you could do it in the morning of.
   Gravy: Follow the instructions on the McCormick Mushroom Gravy sauce package, using the exact amount of water as described, any less and you will make it too salty, if you use milk, you will dilute the salt. You may add a dash of garlic to taste
Let it simmer while you cut the mushrooms and fresh parsley, then add them both stirring occasionally with a whisk so that it won't clump at the bottom. Cover with a lid and lower the flame to its lowest,  and leave it warming aside in the sauce pan. I like to serve the extra gravy in a soup cup and use it on potatoes or as a dip for the sandwich as shown below.

 

 Chicken: By now it should be ready to bake and set the timer for 20 minutes, turning after 10 min. for even sides. If you have not prepped the chicken ahead of time, simpley leave it alone and only turn it at the very end when serving it so the breadcrumbs won't fall apart. In the meantime cut the red onions and tomatoes in very thin rounds and set aside, no need to add salt. Cut mozzarella in thin slices, and put aside. Keep an eye on the gravy  making sure it does not get cold or clumpy by stirring it.

  Layering Tip: Now the bread is ready to be layered making sure to cover the chicken with more gravy and not add the gravy directly to the cheese as it will cause it to slip and slide as your eating. I made two as shown here- the left has tomatoes -and the right was for my husband who wants the original bacon recipe, so I substituted it with Bacon Bits as a healthier alternative to all that fat and grease; and it's easier too. Now it's ready to go back into the oven just to melt the cheese; 2 to 4  minutes yields enough time usually since the oven is still hot, remove from oven and serve.

Oven fried Chicken Hero w/ Muchroom Gravy
One of our families favorite take-out sandwich joints is Cherry Valley in NYC, where the deli counter is a sandwich paradise filled with creative varieties such as "The TCS" "The Beast" or..well, you can imagine, I can go on, on the menu. This is my rendition of this very popular hero, where I modify the ingredients to reduce the fat; when choosing your cheese please aim for reduced fat. When choosing your bread, I recommend you use gluten free, which you can now find in many Giant supermarkets which now have sections devoted to Gluten Free, or online. I am so happy to know that Chicken will increase the work of digestion which in turn increases your metabolism. YAY! Adding some onions, mushrooms, parsley will only make the sandwich that much healthier than the usual "normal way."
To find out more, check out my post on the January 2012 wall - 101 "Fat burning foods Explained" with a shopping list you can print and use. Also readily available on my MOSAIC home page.