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VENISON PARMESAN

2 lbs. Venison steak or chops, cut 1/2" thick
1 cup seasoned flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 lb. Mozzarella cheese, sliced or grated
1C seasoned bread crumbs
2 C grated Parmesan cheese
1 C tomato sauce
1 C chopped tomatoes
1/2 C minced onion
3- 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 t oregano
1 t basil

Tenderize the chops with a meat hammer. Dredge them in seasoned flour, dip in them in the egg mixture, and then coat them with the seasoned bread crumbs mixed with 1 C grated parmesan. After the chops have been tenderized and breaded, place them in the refrigerator while you prepare the sauce. This allows the cutlets to absorb the breading and stiffen up. Sauté the onions and garlic in olive oil, and then add the tomato sauce, tomatoes, oregano and basil. Simmer the sauce while you brown the cutlets in olive oil in a heavy skillet. Arrange the cutlets in a single layer in a shallow baking pan, cover with the Mozzarella cheese (be generous), then spread the sauce mixture over the cheese. Cover this with grated Parmesan cheese, and bake for 1/2 hour at 350. Serve over pasta, with Italian salad, hot crusty garlic bread and chilled red table wine.

Notes: This dish is portable. I have prepared this ahead of time and not done the final baking, but just kept the pan refrigerated and covered with foil. In this case it requires a full hour at 350 to heat through. Another pointer is that you may substitute canned spaghetti sauce for the sauce in the recipe. Also, I highly recommend that chops from the backstraps are used, rather than ordinary steak.