Baked Penne with Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

This makes a lot of pasta. The family really liked this and I probably should have just baked it all at once so they could have had seconds, but instead I divided it into two casserole dishes. I baked one and froze the other for later.

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter, plus more for baking dishes
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pound penne rigate
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (8 ounces each), halved horizontally
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
4 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups whole milk
10 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups shredded provolone (6 ounces)
1 1/2 cups finely grated Parmesan (4 ounces)
Salt and pepper, for seasoning

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400.

Butter two shallow 2-quart baking dishes. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes short of al dente; drain pasta, and return to pot.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Season chicken with salt and pepper; cook until opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Halve each piece lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise.

In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, melt butter over medium. Add flour and garlic; cook, whisking, 1 minute. While whisking, gradually add milk; bring to a simmer, whisking frequently. Add mushrooms and tomatoes; cook 1 minute. Off heat, gradually stir in provolone and 1/2 cup Parmesan.

Add chicken and pasta to pot; season with salt and pepper. Divide pasta mixture between baking dishes; sprinkle each with 1/2 cup Parmesan.

Bake, uncovered, until top is golden and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Did I change anything? I boiled and shredded the chicken instead of cooking it the way the recipe states. I used 1% milk instead of whole and used cooking spray instead of butter on the casserole dishes.

What did the family think? Honestly, this was not my favorite dish, but everyone else LOVED it and there wasn’t enough for everyone to have seconds.

Where did this recipe come from? Martha Stewart

photo from Martha Stewart