Divide the pasta between 4 plates and top with the chicken cutlets as they come out of the pan.Toss until a creamy sauce forms, adding additional pasta water, as necessary. Drain the pasta and return to the pan with half of the pasta water and the pesto.Before draining the pasta, pull out ~1 cup of the pasta water and set aside.Cook the chicken two pieces at a time, for 2-3 minutes on each side, decreasing the heat a little if it browns too quickly.
Press the chicken into the panko mixture and flip and press again.Shake off the excess flour and dip the chicken into the egg mixture, flipping to coat.Add flour to the zipper bag and shake to coat the chicken.Slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally and place in a large zipper bag (or between sheets of plastic wrap) and lightly pound a few times to even and thin them out (thin enough so that they cook quickly but not thin enough that you can see through them).Mix together the panko, Italian seasoning, a generous pinch of salt, pepper, and cheese in another plate or small pan (I used a dinner plate).Whisk egg with 1 Tbsp water and pour into a plate or small pan (I used an 8-inch sq baking dish).Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat.Put the pasta into the boiling water at the same time as you start cooking the chicken and with the exception of quickly tossing some salad greens with some olive oil, lemon juice, and parmesan, everything should finish up at the same time. You have three components here: the pasta, the chicken, and the salad. But you can shave the calories and sodium and price down quite a bit at home without a lot of effort.Īnd you don’t have to put on pants or mascara to do it (though I do recommend wearing pants while cooking the chicken). You have a half pound (or more) of pesto spaghetti topped with fried chicken cutlets, topped with prosciutto, topped with a simple arugula salad.įor $15, it feeds us 2 bigs and 1 little twice. It is a wonderfully delicious calorie- and sodium-bomb of perfection. My very very favorite dish is the Chicken Bellagio. Side note: The look of wonder on a sweet 4-year-old’s face after she discovers what’s hiding inside the fried mac & cheese far surpasses the magic of any five Christmas mornings. A field-trip with her preschool class to a local farm, flu shots (because I am the epitome of fun), half-marathon packet pickup, and a trip to the Lego Store was capped off with a super late lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Last week, Landry & I took a Mommy-Daughter day. There are some points you just can’t argue against. Hope you didn't eat any actual dinner.This is the greatest restaurant ever, momma. Adam’s Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple Cheesecake – One little slice of cheesecake couldn’t hurt, could it? Piled with fudge and peanut butter, this popular dessert packs a hefty 1,330 calories per slice as well as 40 grams of saturated fat.Spicy Cashew Chicken – This Mandarin-style dish is no slouch in the calorie department, holding a massive 1,810 calories, but the most shocking item is the level of sodium in this specialty dish: 4,450 milligrams, almost twice the suggested daily intake.Served with French fries AND fried onion strings, the Beef Rib dinner delivers scale-tipping numbers in every area: 2,310 calories, 74 grams of saturated fat and 1,610 milligrams of sodium. Beef Ribs – Beef has gotten a bad name in the health food world, and with this Cheesecake Factory dish, it’s easy to see why.This is FOUR TIMES the recommended daily allowance for saturated fat in one dish – hope you like your arteries clogged. Pasta Carbonara with Chicken – The calorie count on this creamy pasta dish will make you gasp (2,290), but the real kicker is the saturated fat – 81 grams.