Chicken Pizzaiola- Homemade By Harriet

Chicken pizzaiola is a delicious and easy recipe. It's an Italian classic that can be whipped up in minutes and is crowd pleaser. Come check it out.



The past year was a rough one for my family, in large part, because we had to move my mom into a nursing home.

Her health had deteriorated and in such a short period of time, that despite all our efforts, we were left with no choice. 

She required the type of care that only a medical facility could provide. It has been emotionally draining and very sad for all parties involved.

However, in my new quest to seek out the beauty and inspiration in every day, I have been working hard to identify something positive in this depressing situation.

Today, I think I may have found it.

During the monumental job of emptying my mom’s home, my sisters came across a tattered, faded, beat up marble notebook.

I recognized it immediately.

It was her recipe book.

They had unearthed gold!

You see, I may be a very comfortable and confident decorator, but I am a lousy cook.

No one will tell you that.

My family eats and no one complains, I host holidays and no one has been sickened yet, but it’s all pretty basic fare.

That’s what I am, I'm a basic cook who makes basic recipes. There is nothing inventive or gourmet here…but my mother, well she was a really, really good cook.

To be fair, she was no gourmet either, nothing super fancy was ever served, but her meals were solid. It was food you were excited to come home to and couldn’t wait to eat.

I don’t really remember a bad meal, ever. Well, maybe the cow’s tongue, but I was really little and it was only that one time…

This book has been tucked away for safekeeping, seems like I have a lot of books tucked away, but I think one of the best ways I can honor my mom is to start cooking from it and sharing the recipes with you! (I ripped the tongue recipe out, so no worries!)

It is the ultimate comfort food, a culinary hug from my mom.

I asked her if it she was okay with this and she lit up, she even picked out today’s title!

She was so excited that she still had something of value to share and I was thrilled to have the means to give that gift to her.

Now she and I can sit together during our visits with a purpose, thumbing through that book, choosing her favorites, focusing on something other than what she, and we as a family, have all lost - and that alone is beautiful.

CHICKEN PIZZAIOLA RECIPE

Ingredients:

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Spread olive oil on the bottom of a large, flat baking dish.

Place cutlets in bottom of pan (my mom’s original recipe calls for breading the cutlets- we prefer it without).

Cover the chicken with shredded mozzarella cheese.


Layer thin slices of tomato over the mozzarella cheese.

Add thin slices of onion or onion powder over the tomatoes. Sprinkle oregano over entire dish to flavor.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake around 35-45 minutes.

Serve over pasta or rice and enjoy!!