Penne Pasta Pie

In an attempt to conquer my goal of cooking more, I am making my menu for the week on Sunday night. I have decided that Monday will be the day I try out new recipes (mostly Pinterest recipes). Seriously, what did we do before Pinterest? This was a recipe that I pinned and my sister tried it first. Upon her recommendation, I decided to give it a whirl. It was fairly simple to make, looks really pretty, and Kyle actually ate the leftovers which he hardly ever does. It's safe to say it was a hit in our home!

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon dry italian seasoning
2 cups of spaghetti sauce (left over or store-bought)
1 cup of heavy cream
3/4 pound of penne pasta (or other tube pasta), cooked
8 oz. of fresh mozzarella, cut into cubes
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese, grated
2 tablespoons of fresh basil, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven at 400 degrees. Place chicken breast on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and italian seasoning. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked. When the chicken has cooled, cut it into 1-inch cubes.

In the meantime, prepare penne pasta according to the directions on the box, less 2 minutes. I like to cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than instructions to make sure it doesn't get over done.

In a saute pan, reheat left over or store-bought tomato sauce for 3-5 minutes until bubbly. Stir in heavy cream. Cook for 2-4 more minutes, just until it begins to thicken. Remove from heat.

In a large mixing bowl, combine cooked pasta, chicken, cheeses (reserving 1/2 cup of cheese for the top), tomato cream sauce, and basil. Pour into a pie dish and top with cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Let it set for 5 minutes before serving.

Here is a link to the blog of the original recipe along with lots of pictures.