Chicken Scallopine

I have been toying with the idea of growing a herb garden for quite a while. I like to cook as you know, but in this rural area, even though we have a Super Walmart, it's expensive and not easy to find a variety of fresh herbs. My hunky husband, A.J., bought me a couple of planters and a variety of herbs for Mother's Day. I've been watering the herbs everyday and giving them Miracle Gro, they look beautiful. A.J. asked me if I was EVER going to "harvest" my herbs or was I just watching them grow. Actually, I like watching them grow, they are my babies, I can't cut them up and eat them; that's just wrong. My thought process is wrong because the herbs will grow back. My Golden Sage plant was the biggest, so I picked a few leaves to add a little "Mmm" to my Chicken Scallopine. While we were eating dinner, my teen thinking I had lost my mind remarked, "Mom my food is small and there's a leaf in it.". Her reply was a smirk.


Chicken Scallopine -

Salt and pepper 5 chicken breast cutlets. Place the narrow end of the cutlet toward you and place a sage leaf on the cutlet crossways. Place a slice of Provolone cheese on top of the cutlet. Roll the cutlet and secure it with a toothpick.

Warm 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat, add 2 cloves of garlic cut in half. Let garlic simmer in pan 3 to 5 minutes until fragrant and remove the garlic cloves. Cook the cutlets about 3 minutes per side, turning them to cook all sides.

Remove cutlets from pan to a platter. Add 1/2 cup white wine (or chicken broth if you're not a wine person) and deglaze the pan. Simmer wine for about 2 minutes.

Pour one 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes and 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes in a blender and mix until smooth.

Add tomato mixture to pan and add 2 teaspoons dried oregano, 1 teaspoon dried basil, a pinch of sugar and salt and pepper. Let simmer for 10 minutes, then return the chicken to the pan. Let chicken cook for 10 minutes, turn and let it cook another 7 minutes.

Plate chicken, ladle some sauce over the chicken and top with grated asiago or mozzarella cheese and serve immediately.