Chicken and Pasta Casserole

Our family favorite casserole is a penna pasta casserole with Chicken and cheese.

• 1-1/2 cups uncooked penne pasta
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions :

• Preheat oven to 350°. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken, onion, peppers and seasonings; saute until chicken is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.
• In a blender, pulse tomatoes and tomato paste, covered, until blended. Add to chicken mixture. Stir in broth; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until slightly thickened, 10-15 minutes.
• Drain pasta; toss with chicken mixture. Spoon half of the mixture into a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with half of the cheeses. Repeat layers.
• Cover and bake 30 minutes. Uncover; bake until heated through, 15-20 minutes longer.

Baking Tips :

Have this ready in the fridge and when I get back from the Library . Bring made-ahead casseroles to room temperature before baking. Cold casseroles take too long to come up to temperature in the oven…so hence you tend to over cook the casserole…and it become dry.