Thursday, June 24, 2010

Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina



Ingredients
1 cup of small pasta (elbow macaroni or mini farfalle work really well)
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 cup cubed chicken breast (I usually use 2 breasts)
1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 a small onion)
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup shredded mozzarella (I usually use a lot more because we like cheese so just add what you want)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (you can also use dried parsley if you have it)
(if you have dried oregano and basil, I use those too . . . about a tsp or so of each)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tbs butter

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender stirring occasionally (check the directions on the box for time). Drain the pasta and put in a large mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for about 3-4 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5-8 minutes more. Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley (and any other dried herbs), salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Place mixture in a baking dish sprayed with Pam.

In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

1 comment:

  1. So Yummy!!! I love this recipe! And it is easy to make :)

    ReplyDelete