Nats Cheesy Chicken Penne

On Sunday I was perusing through recipe books and food blogs looking for a dinner idea for Monday’s dinner and I found a great sounding recipe for a chicken curry dish. I thought I had printed it off but come Monday morning I couldn't find it anywhere. Bummed, I started perusing again to find something to make for dinner. After searching for a little while and being frustrated that I couldn't find that original chicken curry recipe, I decided I'd just go with what sounded good. I ended up making this dish from ingredients I had at home that I thought sounded like they would be good together. And so it was that Nat’s Cheesy Chicken Penne was born. I must say I was rather proud of myself for this dish. It was really yummy and the hubby and my toddler loved it too- Always a huge bonus!

Nat’s Cheesy Chicken Penne


Serves 4
Ingredients
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cubed and cooked (see note below)
Enough seasoning salt to lightly coat chicken- I used Lawry's Seasoned Salt
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup of grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
3/4 cup of grated cheddar cheese- We like sharp
3/4 cup of sour cream
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp of dried thyme
Pinch of salt
Dash of pepper
Milk
approx 3/4 of a package of uncooked penne pasta

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the chicken breasts into bite size cubes and season with Lawry's Seasoned Salt. Cook chicken thoroughly. ***note***- Because I had the time- I seasoned my chicken breasts with the seasoned salt and cooked my chicken in tin foil in the oven for 35 minutes. I love to cook my chicken this way because none of the juices are lost and it makes for a moist favorable chicken breast. Once my chicken was cooked, I cut it into cubes. If I were to make this dish and were pinched for time I would have just cut my chicken and cooked it in a skillet until no longer pink. While the chicken is cooking cook the penne pasta in salted water until al dente. I cooked mine for about 6 minutes. Drain well. Don't panic if the noodles look undercooked, they will cook some more in the oven.

In a bowl combine the chicken soup, sour cream, thyme, garlic powder, salt, pepper and cheeses. Set aside.

Once the chicken is cooked add to above mixture. Then add cooked pasta and pour the mixture into a baking dish. I used an 8X8 glass baking dish which was border line too shallow. Next time I think I'll use my deeper corn ware dish. Add a few splashes of milk just to thin out the mixture and place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.

Enjoy