Penne Chicken Bake

I made this last night, and my husband and I really liked it. I adapted it from a recipe I found on Everyday Food, you can see the original here. This recipe took a little longer to prepare than I had hoped, but it was worth it to me because I got a second pan of it to freeze and use later with no prep time at all. If you wanted I think you could easily use left over chicken in this dish - which would save time and dishes:)

Serves 8

6 tablespoons butter

1 pound multi-grain penne

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 chicken breasts

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespooms all-purpose flour

4 cloves garlic, minced

6 cups skim milk

10 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup oil packes sun-dried tomatoes, drained and thinly sliced

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella

1 cup grated parmesan

breadcrumbs

salt

pepper

Boil large pot of water and cook penne 4 minutes less than box instructions. Meanwhile, heat oil in pan over medium-high, salt and pepper chicken on both sides; cook chicken 4 minutes on each side, until cooked through. Thinly slice cooked chicken. Set pasta and chicken aside; preheat oven to 400 degrees. In large pot (I used the same one I cooked the pasta in), melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and garlic; cook, whisking 1 minute. Add milk, while continuing to whisk; simmer, whisking frequently. Add mushrooms and tomatoes; cook 1 minute. Take pot off heat and stir in mozzarella and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheeses. Add in chicken and pasta. Season with salt and pepper. Divide into two buttered 8x8 pans, top with remaining parmesan cheese and sprinkle with breadcrumbs*. Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

*At this point you can set one or both pans aside to cool and then freeze. Once they are completely cooled, cover tightly with tin foil and freeze up to 3 months. To bake from frozen: preheat oven to 400 degrees, bake about 1 1/2 hours or until center is hot; remove foil and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden.