Chicken Pasta Bake
Posted By Melissa on March 5, 2010
I forgot about taking pictures of this while I was making it. Suffice to say, this is really good!!! It does take a little longer though because you need to cook the veggies and pasta first and then bake it for 45 minutes. It is worth the time.
Chicken and Pasta Bake
1 sm onion, chopped
3 T butter, separated
1 c mushrooms, fresh, sliced
3-4 zucchini, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 sm. can tomatoes, diced*
1 T basil
salt
1 box pasta shells, cooked to al dente
3 chicken breasts, cooked, cut up
2-3 cups whipping cream
10 oz package monterey jack cheese, shredded
3/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
In 1 T butter, cook the onions until caramelized**. Then add the rest of the butter and mushrooms, zucchini, celery, and garlic. Cook until crisp-tender. Then stir in the tomatoes, basil, and salt.
Combine the pasta, vegetables, and chicken in a large bowl, and then spoon into a 9×13 pan.
Here’s a picture of it dumped in my pan, before it’s mixed. It wasn’t worth it. Just do it in a large bowl and THEN pour it into the pan.
Combine whipping cream and cheeses in a saucepan; cook over low heat until cheese melts, stirring frequently. Pour the sauce over the pasta mixture. Bake, covered (or your pasta will get hard!), at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
Look at this deliciousness. I need to make this again soon!! Let me know if you try it!!
*And the reason you don’t see tomatoes in that bowl is because I forgot to buy a can! It was still good but would have been better with the tomatoes.
**Caramelized means cooking the onions until transluscent and beyond. They should be caramel-y looking. I have a picture somewhere but can’t find it!! Some people react funny to onions, like burping or tooting, and I can tell you that caramelizing the onions first will solve this. I know it takes longer, but they taste so good like this!
I’m linking up with Tempt My Tummy Tuesday! Check it out for more great recipes.
Wow, that looks good, Melissa! Not like anyone here would like though. *lol*
That sounds delicious Melissa! I have discovered skillet pasta dishes after making one from America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. They are great b/c the entire dish cooks in one big skillet-less clean up. I am going to try this recipe but convert it to a skillet recipe. The one I made used whipping cream as well, so it reminded me of this recipe. Basically, you saute the veggies (and you could even cook the chicken if it was cut up into small pieces) for a little bit, then add the noodles and whipping cream (and this recipe used some chicken broth as well) and let the noodles cook in the broth/cream mixture.
I think I gave you that recipe! And it is still one of my favorites! It just makes so much!
This looks so yummy! I’ve been looking for some good, made from scratch one dish recipes. I’ve got some cooked chicken in my freezer that I could definitely make this with. Thanks for sharing! By the way, the name of your blog is what drew me in the first place-love coffee!!
With all of that cream it must be delicious!
This looks so yummy! I am printing the recipe now so I can try it out. Thanks for sharing. I will be back often.
That looks good! Cream and chicken is such a great combo.