I used to make this exact recipe with ground beef. In fact, my mom made it for me all the time growing up. It became known as my favorite dish and she still makes it for me when I go home to visit. I decided to switch it up with chicken because my husband prefers chicken to beef.
Ingredients:
- 1 loaf Italian Bread (try my recipe: Super Easy Italian Bread)
- 16 oz jar of sauce, or homemade pasta sauce
- 2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2T panko bread crumbs
- 1T Italian style bread crumbs
- 1T grated Parmesan cheese
- 2T butter, melted
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Preheat cast-iron skillet to medium.
Mix together bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Dip chicken breasts into butter then dredge through bread crumbs coating both sides evenly. Add to preheated skillet.
Cook 5 minutes on each side until chicken is just done and browned on both sides. It will cook more in the oven. Transfer to cutting board.
Cut top off bread loaf (see picture). Remove bread from the inside with your hands. (See "tips" below, if you don't want to discard the bread)
Cut chicken into cubes. Place bread loaf on sprayed baking sheet. Add chicken to the inside. Top with 3/4 cup mozzarella.
Place baking sheet in oven. Bake for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbling.
Return top of loaf to bread, spread 1/4 cup mozzarella on top. Bake an additional 5 minutes to melt cheese.
While sandwiches are baking, heat sauce on stove-top.
When the sandwiches are done, remove from oven, let cool slightly. Cut loaf into 2-inch slices, ladle sauce over slice and serve hot.
I admit there are a lot of steps, but do it once and it will be a piece of cake.
Tips:
- With the left over bread that you take out of the loaf you can do the following (add at least 1 more chicken breast and 1/2 cup mozzarella):
- Spread into a square baking dish.
- Add chicken to the glass baking dish (on top of the bread). Sprinkle with the 1/2 cup mozzarella.
- Place baking dish and baking sheet, side-by-side in oven.
- The "sandwiches" in the baking dish can easily be scooped out without cutting and served the same way with sauce.
- Another option is to save the bread for homemade croutons.
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