Baked Cheesy Chicken Pasta

May 2, 2012 by Mrs. Edwards 1 Comment

Tonight’s dinner has been on the menu for the past 3 weeks but for some reason we kept skipping it. We seemed to either work late, were craving something else from the menu, or were unexpectedly tied up for dinner on those nights, and somehow it kept getting bumped to the next week. But tonight, was the night. And my, oh my…was it a good one! I’m bummed we didn’t try it earlier, but am so happy to have it in my recipe arsenal from now on! It was quite easy and pretty efficient on time too!

Baked Cheesy Chicken Pasta

• 3 Tbsp butter
• Salt & pepper
• 1/2 lb. pasta (rotini, penne, rigatoni, bowties- whatever you’d like)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 c. + 1 Tbsp. flour
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 3 c. milk
• 3/4 c. shredded cheese (I used a provolone/mozzarella mix)
• 3/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Boil pasta until al dente- about 3 minutes under recommended time. Set aside.
3. While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a medium skillet. Season chicken with salt & pepper and cook until no longer pink inside. Remove from pan and thinly slice. Set aside.
4. In a medium pot or dutch oven, melt butter and add flour and garlic. Whisk together and cook for about 1 minute (you are creating roux– the thickener for your cheese sauce).
5. Gradually add milk while whisking constantly. Bring to a simmer and whisk frequently while sauce thickens. It may take a few minutes to thicken, just keep whisking!
6. Remove pot from heat and gradually stir in cheeses.
7. Add chicken and pasta to pot. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
8. Pour mixture into a greased baking dish.
9. Bake uncovered for about 25 minutes or until top is golden and bubbling. Let stand for a few minutes before serving.
10. ENJOY!

I’m looking forward to adding this on to our menu again soon! And this time it won’t keep getting bumped :) This recipe is great because it uses things that we always have in our cupboard and is pretty dang foolproof. I mean, honestly, you can’t go wrong with chicken, pasta and cheese! Hope you enjoy this just as much as we did!

With Love,
Mrs. Edwards