Awesome chicken cutlets

I didn't mean to make chicken cutlets for dinner tonight. I don't even remember what was on the the menu for tonight, all I know is that I wanted to make chicken cutlets tonight and have a family dinner.

I'm sure you're saying to yourself, Type A Mommy doesn't have family dinners??? And the answer is not really. I feed Baby at around 5:30 every day, either a jarred baby food or a Graduates microwaveable toddler meal, and then Husband (if I'm lucky) gets home from work some time between 6 and 7 and we eat dinner together after Baby goes to bed.

Tonight, I really wanted the three of us to eat dinner together and I thought chicken cutlets would be an easy meal to prepare and for Baby to eat. It's also an awesome recipe, so I'm sharing it with all of you bloggy friends. BTW, Baby enjoyed it considerably, and I'm going to try really hard to institute family dinners on the weekend. There's no reason not to, other than my innate need to follow a pattern.

Type A Mommy's Awesome Chicken Cutlets
Printer-friendly recipe

6-8 chicken cutlets
1 cup flour
2-3 eggs (start with 2)
3-4 cups fresh breadcrumbs (see step 1)
Salt
Pepper
1-2 cups vegetable oil

1. Make fresh breadcrumbs with a food processor (or blender) by using a really nice loaf of white sandwich bread - I use Pepperidge Farm's Hearty White bread. It's awesome. Tear up about 4 pieces into 1 inch chunks, and put into food processor. Depending on the size of food processor or blender you're using, don't put them all in at once. I do about half at a time, and I have a 9-cup food processor. Don't cover up the blades too much. Using the pulse button, chop up the bread until it becomes crumbs - not teeny tiny ones, hearty ones. See the picture below of the breaded chicken. Too lazy to make the breadcrumbs? Use panko breadcrumbs. (The homemade ones really taste awesome, though.)2. Set up an assembly line of three dishes. One for your flour, one for your eggs (which you want to whisk), and one for your fresh breadcrumbs. At the end of the assembly line, set up a wire rack on top of a piece of aluminum foil (makes for easier cleanup).3. Take out your chicken and pat dry with a paper towel. Salt and pepper them as desired. Dredge each cutlet in the flour on both sides one at a time, then the whisked egg mixture, then the breadcrumbs. Make sure to press the chicken into the breadcrumb mixture to ensure they adhere nicely, and after breading both sides of the chicken, place on the wire rack for at least five minutes before frying.
4. Meanwhile, heat up about 1-2 cups of vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat until smoking.
5. After your cutlets have sat, fully breaded, for at least five minutes, begin frying your cutlets. Fry on each side for 3-4 minutes, until browned nicely, and serve hot.

Don't they look so very yummy?