Recipe Wednesday - Chicken Pasta Bake

Chicken Pasta Bake is a recipe that my friends and family love. I'm really proud of this one because I came up with it all on my own! Not that that difficult of a recipe, but I'm not very good at "winging it" when it comes to cooking. It's pretty easy for a fast week night meal when the kids are screaming and there just isn't enough time.

This recipe will easily serve 4 people and leave them feeling nice and full.

* 8oz Penne Rigate Pasta (you can use any kind you like)
* 2.5 cups Prego Marinara (you can use any kind you like)
* 2 thawed boneless, skinless chicken breasts
* 1 cup shredded Mozzarella
* Your fave seasoning salt



1. Preheat oven to 350degress

2. Cook pasta as directed on packaging.

3.  Pound chicken breasts until about 1/2" thick. I've found that pounding my chicken it look bigger, in turn making people (including myself) think they are eating more than they really are...oh the tricks we can play on our minds :)

4. Lightly season your chicken with the seasoning of your choice and place it off to the side.

(sorry this one's blurry)

5. When your pasta is ready, strain it and rinse if desired. Dump pasta into a medium size baking dish and add sauce. Mix together well. You want to make sure your pasta is well coated with sauce since it will absorb some while baking. Place your chicken breasts on top of the pasta/sauce mixture.

6.  Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Covering the dish will keep the pasta from drying out and make your chicken extra moist.

7. Once the chicken is cooked, turn the oven off, remove the dish from the oven and remove the aluminum foil. Cover the chicken with mozzarella and place it back in the oven. Keep the oven turned OFF.

8. Once the cheese is melted (about 5 minutes) take the dish back out of the oven, serve and enjoy! (I forgot to take a picture of my finished product...oops!)