Baked Pastina Casserole

This is an Italian inspired casserole dish. The great thing about casseroles is that while they bake you have time to do other things: set the table, do the dishes, which isn't the case with other types of dishes. I just made this for the first time tonight. The family enjoyed this so much I think this will be made a lot more often. Note: the recipe calls for pastina or any type of small pasta, I used a small spiral pasta, but in a pinch you could break spaghetti into small pieces to make it work too.


Baked Pastina Casserole
Serves: 4, Serving Size: 1/4 pan
Nutritional Info: Calories 392.9 Total Fat 22.5 g Saturated Fat 10.4 g Polyunsaturated Fat 1.2 g Monounsaturated Fat 8.7 g Cholesterol 45.4 mg Sodium 406.1 mg Potassium 110.9 mg Total Carbohydrate 28.5 g Dietary Fiber 2.3 g Sugars 3.8 g Protein 20.3 g

Ingredients
1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup cubed chicken breast (1-inch cubes)
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
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 pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.
3. Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the pan 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.
4. 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 by 2-inch baking dish. In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese.
5. 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.

Source: Giada De Laurentiis at Food Network