From no pizza to no sleep

I never mentioned how the not eating pizza scheme worked. I would say I had moderate success. I did lose about 2.5 lbs but I also ate pizza three times. Gasp! Once was totally on accident but the last two times I did it on purpose. Sorry. I knew I wasn't going to lose the required five pounds so I kinda gave up. Besides, what was really getting thin wasn't my belly, it was my wallet. Getting other stuff instead of pizza was costing me almost twice as much.

So I have a new experiment. I'm going to get up at 6:00am every weekday so I can get a head start on the kids. YIKES! I'm going to give it a month. I might sleep til 7:00 on Wednesdays and Fridays because I have school til 10:00pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but we'll see. I just have a much better day when I can get my head together before the kids wake up. So I'm going to try to make it a habit. Today was the first day and it was ok. It wasn't quite as productive as I was hoping cause Maddy got up at about 6:35 and talked to me the whole time. So we are going to have to do something about that.

For this week's new recipe I conquered my fear of the chicken cutlet. The "cutlet" is such an undefined term I never knew quite what it was. But I took my regular chicken breast and cut it in half lengthwise. I hope that was right. Either way, it came out great!

Zesty Chicken Cutlets Parmigiana

1 pound of spaghetti

Quick Marinara Sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 pinches crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cans (28 oz each) crushed tomatoes
15 to 20 leaves fresh basil, roughly cut or torn
A handful of chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Chicken
The juice of 3 lemons, or several tablespoons bottled lemon juice
1 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Romano cheese
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
Freshly ground black pepper
A pinch crushed red pepper flakes
A handful chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 & 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast cutlets
2 cloves garlic, popped from skin and left whole
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced.


Start a big pot of salted water to boil for pasta. Cook according to package directions, until al dente.

Meanwhile, throw your sauce together by heating garlic and crushed red pepper in olive oil in a pot over medium heat. When the garlic speaks by sizzling in the oil, add tomatoes and fresh herbs. Bring to a bubble, reduce heat, and let the sauce hang out over low heat while you prepare the cutlets.

Squeeze lemon juice into a shallow dish. Mix Parmigino, bread crumbs, black pepper, red pepper, and parsley on a large plate. Turn each cutlet in lemon juice, then press and coat in breading.

Heat 2 whole cloves garlic in olive oil in large skillet or frying pan over medium heat. When garlic sizzles, remove cloves and saute chicken cutlets for 4 minutes on each side. When the cutlets are done, arrange on an oven proof serving dish covered with a layer of sauce. Dot each cutlet with a little more sauce and a slice of fresh mozzarella. Place platter under broiler to just melt cheese.

Take warm platter right to the table. Toss drained spaghetti with remaining sauce. Serve spaghetti and a green salad as side dishes.