Chicken Penne Casserole

As a general rule, any recipe with more than, say, seven ingredients does not find a place in my recipe drawer. I don't have the attention span required for such gourmet dishes. And I have a two year old boy. Also as a guideline, I don't add a lot of peppers and onions to my dishes. I like the flavor, I just don't like the chunks. Sorry about the bad picture, my camera is pooping out.

When this came to me in the Taste of Home newsletter, the picture spoke to me. It looked SO GOOD. Thinking back, I am pretty sure I mistakenly thought all the red stuff in the picture was tomatoes. Whatever the reason, it was totally worth it.

This is a wonderful spring supper. Incredibly flavorful and not to difficult to put together, even after getting home late from track practice (long, irritating story there).

This would be so simple to chop up all the veggies the night before and just throw them into the skillet. That's definitely what I will do next time. Definitely a keeper. The Girl and The Boy had seconds and The Girl wants to have it again tomorrow night. Try It Tuesday wins again :)



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Chicken Penne Casserole

1-1/2 cups uncooked penne pasta
1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup each chopped onion, green pepper and sweet red pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon each dried basil, oregano and parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
3 tablespoons tomato paste
3/4 cup chicken broth
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, saute the chicken, onion, peppers, garlic and seasonings in oil until chicken is no longer pink.
In a blender, combine tomatoes and tomato paste; cover and process until blended. Add to chicken mixture. Stir in broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until slightly thickened.
Drain pasta; toss with chicken mixture. Spoon half of the mixture into a greased 2 qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with half of the mozzarella and Romano cheeses. Repeat layers.
Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 15-20 minutes longer or until heated through. Yield: 4 servings.