{Italian Baked Chicken and Pasta}

This has become one of those go to recipes, because it's really easy and I usually have all the ingredients on hand. Also, I have a 3 year old who has gotten picky on me, but she ate an entire bowl and asked for more! Just for that reason, I will be making this again and again. It's that yummy!

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• 1 1/2 cups small pasta (I used large elbow pasta)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup cubed chicken breast
• 1/2 cup diced onion 
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 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

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees 

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta and put into a large mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Place the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8  baking dish. In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Adapted from Everyday Italian (Giada De Laurentis)