Baked Penne With Chicken and Sundried Tomatoes

I know, it's been a while since I posted, but trust me, I am still trying new things! I just don't have a lot of time to tell everyone about it! The other night I went to On The Border, and instead of my usual enchiladas (shredded beef with red sauce), I ordered "La Bandera" which was a chicken enchilada with a sour cream sauce, a pork enchilada with green chile sauce and a beef enchilada with red sauce. MMMM! It was delicious!

The other night, I made baked penne with chicken and sundried tomatoes. I found the recipe to be a little... well bland. I spiced up my leftovers with some red pepper flakes. But play around with it and let me know if you come up with anything delicious from the recipe!  Just a heads up, this recipe makes A LOT of food, feel free to cut it in half!
Enjoy!


Baked Penne With Chicken and Sundried Tomatoes

Prep Time 35 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Yield Serves 8

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 cup finely grated Parmesan (4 ounces)

Directions

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Add chicken and pasta to pot; season with salt and pepper. Divide pasta mixture between baking dishes; sprinkle each with cup Parmesan.
5. Bake, uncovered, until top is golden and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.