Summer Chicken Skillet

I’m getting slightly burned out on chicken.

Beef is reserved for special occasions in my house. I rarely cook pork. Seafood is too pricey. Chicken is king when it comes to my meal prepping.

But you can only dress up chicken so much before getting real tired of it.

That’s why I’ve been doing different things with it. Shredding it with a thick cheese sauce, stir-frying thighs, and pan frying cutlets. I’ve been trying to ignore my less-than-enthusiastic aversion to chicken.

This skillet dinner made me excited for chicken again. It helps that the chicken breast cutlets were breaded in panko and fried until crisp. Can every piece of chicken I eat be made this way?

I didn’t season this dish very well, though. The recipe below will have more seasoning involved than what I actually cooked with. There’s nothing worse than a bland chicken dinner. All the good stuff was there in what I cooked, it just needed more seasoning in the end. Salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning should do the trick.

This dinner is like chicken parmesan, minus the parmesan and thick tomato sauce. It’s got all the flavors of summer, too: summer squash, zucchini, fresh grape tomatoes, and fragrant fresh basil. I could munch on this dinner for weeks if I had the chance.

Enjoy!

Summer Chicken Skillet

• Servings: 4
• Time: 30 mins
• Difficulty: Medium
• Print

A vibrant skillet dinner with pan-fried chicken cutlets with summer vegetables.

Ingredients

• 4 large chicken breast, cut in half and each piece pounded thin
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 TBS. vegetable oil
• 2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• salt & pepper
• 1 TBS. olive oil
• 2 small zucchini, cut into half moons
• 1 yellow squash, cut into half moons
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup grape tomatoes
• 8 oz. fresh sliced mozzarella
• Fresh basil, torn, for serving

Directions

1. Season chicken cutlets with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Set up a dredging station: put flour in a shallow bowl, breadcrumbs in another shallow bowl, and beaten eggs in another.
2. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Dredge cutlets, one at a time, in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Fry cutlets, one or 2 at a time, until golden brown and crispy, about 3-4 minutes per side.
3. Remove chicken to a baking sheet and top with slices of mozzarella. Heat oven to broil. Broil cheese-covered chicken breast for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted.
4. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in same skillet you cooked the chicken in. Add squash, zucchini and tomatoes and saute until crisp-tender, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in garlic, salt and pepper and heat until fragrant, 1 more minute.
5. Add chicken with mozzarella back to the skillet and top with basil. Serve.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Season chicken cutlets with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Set up a dredging station: put flour in a shallow bowl, breadcrumbs in another shallow bowl, and beaten eggs in another.

Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Dredge cutlets, one at a time, in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs.

Fry cutlets, one or 2 at a time, until golden brown and crispy, about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove chicken to a baking sheet and top with slices of mozzarella. Heat oven to broil. Broil cheese-covered chicken breast for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in same skillet you cooked the chicken in. Add squash, zucchini and tomatoes and saute until crisp-tender, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in garlic, salt and pepper and heat until fragrant, 1 more minute.

Add chicken with mozzarella back to the skillet and top with basil. Serve.