Chicken Baked Ziti

Hello!  How've you been?  Me?  I've been busy.  There was a birthday.  Sadly, no photos.

Then there was a wedding.

Wedding Cake

Then there was a baby shower.

Diaper Cake

Then there was life.

I'm back.  I hope.  I do have a lot of recipes to share and hopefully I can remember how I did them.  I typically don't write down what I have done right after I have done it and I really should.  I see a picture of a dish I made and I think "What was that?"  I can never remember.  Or then I do and think "oh yeah, that was good.  How did I make that?"  That's happened a lot.  I have lots of pictures of dishes and have no idea how I made them so I can't share.  Bummer. 

This one I had to write down immediately.  M made it last night and it was so stinkin' good that I had to share it.  M and I stuffed ourselves.  It was such a warm hearty meal - much more appropriate for a winter's evening but good is good no matter what time of year.  There are so many layers of flavor with this dish with the different cheeses and who doesn't love some cheesey goodness?

Chicken Baked Ziti
A recipe by M for A Homemade Kitchen

1lb ziti, cooked to almost al dente
1 whole round of Boursin herbed cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 jar prepared tomato sauce, any flavor
1 14oz canned diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock
handful of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 ball fresh mozzarella, sliced
4 slices of sharp provolone
grated parmesean cheese, however much you like

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Bring a pot of water to boil.  Salt the water generously and drop the pasta in. Cook until the pasta is almost al dente.  Don't over cook as it will continue to cook in the oven.  Add the boursin cheese to the hot pasta and let the cheese melt.  Stir it all together so all of the pasta is coated with the cheese.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the chicken breasts.  Cook on each side for about about 7 minutes.  Remove from skillet.  Add the garlic and onion to the skillet and cook until fragrant, about 4 minutes.  Chop the chicken into 1 inch cubes and add back to the pan.  Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and chicken stock.  Bring to a bubble and let simmer for about 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.  Stir in the parsley.

Add the pasta to the skillet with the sauce and stir to combine.  Add the pasta mixture to a casserole dish.  Top with the mozzarella, provolone, and parmesean cheese.  Bake in the oven for about ten minutes until the cheese is all brown and bubbly.  Serve immediately.