Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina

By tlhoover

Ingredients

• 1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ½ cup cubed chicken breast
• ½ cup diced onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• ¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup bread crumbs
• ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp butter, plus more for buttering baking dish

Preparation

Step 1

• 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 just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes
• Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl
• Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat
• Add chicken and cook for 3 minutes
• Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more
• Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta
• Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt and pepper
• Stir to combine
• Place the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8 by 2 inch baking dish
• In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the 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