Second Friday of Lent

I dined solo tonight. I ate a simple meal that was packed with memories. Pastine with milk, cheese, and butter. It brought me back to the kitchen on Lettney Place. Sitting on the bench with my Mom making me lunch. Funny how one kind of pasta can trigger a flood of warm memories.

Chicken and Pastine Casserole

Continuing with the "comfort food" theme tonight we had Chicken and Pastine Casserole. The recipe is from the Giada De Laurentiis cookbook "Everyday Pasta". This was the perfect mixture of pasta, chicken and cheese. The flavors melted together perfectly.

Pastine is one of the things my Mom always made for lunch. She would either add milk or chicken broth or just butter and cheese. That is why this is designated a 'comfort food".

I had to make some changes to the original recipe. I did not mean to I just did not check the pantry before I started. Canned diced tomatoes. Nope. I used crushed tomatoes. Mozzarella cheese. Not enough so I added a little bit of cheddar. And of course, I did not use the garlic.

Click here for the original recipe.

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

Method-
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

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.

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 by 2-inch 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.