Italian Baked Chicken with Penne
Posted on March 30, 2011
When my Dad had a stroke many years ago, my mother stopped cooking with oil. She substituted chicken broth if the recipe called for oil (even olive oil – if she was making a cake she would use applesauce instead of oil).
My friend Amy sent me this recipe. Two cheeses, butter and oil! I betcha I can make it lighter!! My guinea pig would be Bill – my husband, as he is the most finicky eater I know.
I HUGE fan of fiber and hiding vegetables where ever possible. The original recipe did not call for red or green peppers, but I added them. I also used my favorite pasta, Fiber Gourmet Light Penne – 40% fewer calories that regular penne and 72% of daily fiber.
Cutting oil and butter save me 384 calories and 17 grams of fat!
The base recipe is from Giada De Laurentiis
Following is her recipe with my modifications 🙂 Serves 8!
Ingredients
- 2 cups Fiber Gourmet Light Penne
- 1 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
- 1/3 cup fat free chicken broth
- 1 medium red pepper – chopped
- 1 medium green pepper – chopped
- 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes (you can omit or add less)
Directions
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 chicken broth in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions, garlic, red and green peppers, 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, red pepper flakes. Stir to combine. Place the mixture in a 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray (like Pam). In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Spray non-stick spray on top of bread crumbs. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
Enjoy!!!