Chicken Florentine

I have a box of recipes that I have accumulated over the past 15 years.  Most of these are recipes from my mom, who is a fabulous cook.  They are usually written in pencil, marker or even crayon on scratches of whatever paper happened to be near the phone.  I have even found out that some of them had missing ingredients, either my mom was giving the recipe to me from memory or I missed part of her dictating.  I have made several recipes and thought it tasted different from my mom's and then realized it was missing something key.   I want to start making a book of my favorites, so I'll start by blogging a few. 

Chicken Florentine is definitely one of our favorites.  It is a comfort food, but there are alterations you could make to make it healthier.

4 Chicken breasts, cut in strips against the grain
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 cup of Panko(Japanese bread crumbs)
2 TBSP Italian seasoning
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp Sugar
2 cups cooked Spinach
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup Flour (I use whole wheat)
1 cup of chicken broth
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Cooked rice

Put bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, Parmesan cheese, pepper, salt and sugar in gallon sized Ziploc bag.  Shake to mix, add raw chicken strips, shake to coat. 
Heat olive oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and tent with foil to keep it warm.
In same pan, melt butter and stir in flour to make a paste.  Add chicken broth, stirring constantly until a low boil, stir in milk to boil.  Add mozzarella.   Layer rice, cooked spinach, chicken strips and sauce.  Give it a try!