Baked Chicken and Pastina

Ingredients

• 1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta, I used small shells)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup cubed chicken breast, 1-inch cubes (I don’t think this is nearly enough chicken, I cut up an entire package of chicken tenders)
• 1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 a small onion)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I use 1 package of frozen
• spinach instead and add it into the chicken mixture)
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 tablespoon butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the
3. pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5
4. minutes. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.
5. Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat.
6. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic,
7. stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the
8. chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Put the chicken
9. mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes,
10. mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Place
11. the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish. In a small
12. bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle
13. over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of
14. butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes