Italian Baked Bruschetta Chicken and Pastina

Brace yourselves, folks - I've done it again. I have created my very own dinner.



Okay, that is a total lie.

When planning my meals for the week, I couldn't decide between Giada's Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina and Kraft's Bruschetta Chicken Bake.

But then... it occured to me; make BOTH!



So I did.

I pretty much doubled Giada's version minus the topping, and then used the Kraft's topping instead.

Delicious. But not a friendly meal if you are cutting back on carbs. ;)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb pastina pasta (or any small pasta)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup cubed chicken breast (1-inch cubes)
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

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 (or sprayed) 9x13 baking dish.

In a small bowl mix tomatoes, stuffing mix, water and garlic just until stuffing mix is moistened. Layer the stuffing mix on top of the pasta.

Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes.