Easy Chicken Parmigiana

Good Tuesday morning!

This week, The Gallery Pics are going to tell the story of our 14th Annual Mountain Trip... one long, long day at a time.

RANDOMNESS - As promised, below you will find the last installment of The Mikie and Belinda Story. Tomorrow I'll go straight into The Engagement Story... you lucky dogs!

The Mikie and Belinda Story - Part Five

Mikie's dating commitments were finished. He was sitting beside me on a packed pew at Shades Mountain Baptist Church. He smelled really, really good. But I digress. He wanted to talk to me for just a few minutes after the service. Hmmm. What could he possibly want to talk about?

All of our friends scattered, and he walked me to my car. "Would you be interested in going out to eat and to a movie this Friday night?" he asked almost immediately.

"Are you sure you can afford it? You've spent a huge amount of money these past three weeks. I don't want to put a strain on your savings account!" I hate playing games, but I was still more than a little miffed.

"Friday's payday. And even if it wasn't, I am more than able to afford dinner and a movie with my best friend."

Okay. Now he wasn't just smelling good... he was talking good, too. I accepted.

Friday night finally came, and I wore my new blue and white striped jumpsuit with huge shoulder pads and new Connie flats. (Trust me. It was the 80s. I looked great.) Mike showed up a few minutes early and we went on our first date... dinner at Milo's and a movie. I didn't mind the fast food dinner. Milo's has always been one of Mikie's favorites, and as long as we were seeing a movie (one of my favorites), I knew he had covered all the bases.

As you can imagine, having been the best of friends for over three years, conversation never lagged, hand holding was very natural, and I can honestly say it was the first "first date" I had ever been on where I wasn't so nervous beforehand I was sick to my stomach. Easy breezy. That's how I would describe our first date.

After it was over and he was walking me to the door of the apartment, he asked me a couple of questions. "How many kids do you want?"

"Three. Two boys and a girl."

"Yeah. Me, too."

"Do I get to kiss you good night?" (Just for clarification... Mikie asked me!)

"Nope. Not on the first date."

"Well, technically... ," he started to whine.

"Nope. There's nothing technical about it. Third date, buddy."

Then I had a question for him.

"Did you kiss the girls you dated the last three weeks?"

"No. And I told them I wouldn't be calling them back for another date. However, I said it nicer."

All right. As they say in all the astronaut movies, "We were clear for take-off." And take-off we did. To finish this long, long story, I'll give you the rest of our courtship tale in the form of a timeline.

March, 1987 - First date.

March, 1987 - Third date (Mikie says, "I love you," and I agree.)

April, 1987 - I meet Mikie's family for Easter lunch. (Mikie has already met my family in the three years we had been friends.)

May, 1987 - We meet with Dr. Charles Carter for counseling. We know we want to get married, but we also know how "fast" this will seem for our families. He gives us very good advice. We sort of take it.

August, 1987 - After Mike has talked to my Dad and asked for my hand in marriage, we become engaged.

January, 1988 - Mikie and I become husband and wife. I married my best friend. And he smelled really, really good!

Easy Chicken Parmigiana

When we go on our mountain trip, Bev is in charge of one dinner, and I am in charge of the other. (Friday night, everyone is on their own!) Katie picked the menu for our Sunday night dinner, and I will now share this super simple and delicious recipe with you today.

You will need the following:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/3 cup dry Italian bread crumbs
1 large egg (beaten)
1 (12-ounce) Ragu (or your favorite sauce)
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (shredded)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Flatten chicken breasts with kitchen mallet between two sheets of plastic.

3. Dip chicken cutlets into egg and then bread crumbs.

4. Place coated chicken in a lightly greased 9 x 13 baking dish and bake for 20 minutes.

5. Remove pan from oven and pour the marinara sauce over chicken.

6. Sprinkle mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses on top and bake in oven for 15 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted and golden.

You can serve this over noodles if you like. (That's how Katie prefers it. Guess who forgot the noodles?)

Have a grand Tuesday! Wednesday's Wisdom, a Seasonal Tradition, The Engagement Story, more Mountain Trip pics and Randomness, Randomness, Randomness await your visit Wednesday morning!

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda