SLOW COOKER CHICKEN PARMESAN AND PENNE PASTA

Ingredients:

3 tbsp olive oil (I used garlic olive oil)

7 - 8 cloves garlic, chopped

1 (12 oz.) box Penne Pasta (I use the veggie penne) Boil for only 4 minutes

½ teaspoon salt

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts – cooked (baked, boiled, etc,) (or rotisserie chicken breasts)

1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

2 (24 oz.) marinara sauce (I use 1 jar of Bertolli 5 Cheese Marinara Sauce)

1 teaspoon onion herb Mrs. Dash seasoning or Italian seasoning

2 cups mozzarella shredded (I use low fat 2% milk fat cheese)

4 oz. Parmesan Grated or shredded

1 (5 oz.) bag croutons

Directions:

Line your slow cooker with slow cooker liners.

Peel about 7 garlic cloves and chop them into tiny pieces.

Add the garlic and olive oil to a sauteuse pan.  On medium heat, stir and cook until the garlic begins to be toasted.  Set aside

Boil water with ½ teaspoon salt.  Once a rapid boil is reached, add the box of penne.  Boil for 4 minutes, then remove from heat and drain.  Toss with half of the toasted garlic and olive oil that was set aside.

Chop two of the chicken breasts into tiny pieces (I use a food chopper)

In a large mixing bowl add the penne, the marinara, 1 teaspoon onion herb Mrs. Dash seasoning, and ½ cup shredded Parmesan.  Mix well.

Pour half of the pasta mixture into the slow cooker.  Place the remaining 2 chicken breasts on the bed of penne.  Top chicken and pasta with 1 cup ½  cup parmesan and 1 cup mozzarella.  Pour the remaining pasta mixture over chicken.  Top with ¼ cup parmesan.

Slow Cook on LOW for 4 hours.

About ½ hour before serving, top with the croutons and sprinkle croutons with any remaining cheese.  Once the cheese is melted, remove the lid until it is only partly covering the crock.

Ingredients

Chopped Chicken

Chopped Garlic

Toasted Garlic

Firm Boiled Penne tossed in Garlic Olive Oil

Toasted Garlic and Olive Oil on bottom of lined crock pot

Mixing Pasta, Chicken, Cheese, Sauce

All Mixed Up

Layering Chicken

Cheese on Chicken

Ready to slow Cook

Ready to top with croutons

Croutons

Cheese topped croutons

Lid Askew

Ready to Serve

CHICKEN PARMESAN CASSEROLE BAKE

Adapted from: http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2008/02/end-of-chicken-parmesan-as-you-know-it.html

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil (I used garlic olive oil)

6  cloves garlic, chopped

5 or 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts – (use thin chicken breasts or use a meat tenderizer and pound it into thinner chicken breasts)

½ cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

2 or 3 cups marinara sauce(I use 1 jar of Prego 3 Cheese Marinara Sauce or Bertoli 4 Cheese Marinara)

¼ cup chopped basil

8 oz. mozzarella shredded (I use low fat 2% milk fat cheese)

4 oz. Parmesan Grated or shredded

1 ½  (5 oz. packages)  garlic croutons (so 7.5 oz. croutons) (I used crustinis or Texas Toast Croutons)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.** Or 275 to slow bake

Peel about 6 garlic cloves and chop them into tiny pieces.

Add the garlic and olive oil to a sauteuse pan.  On medium heat, stir and cook until the garlic begins to be toasted. 

Pour the toasted garlic olive oil into a 9X13” baking dish.

Then, put the chicken breast over toasted garlic olive oil. 

Layer ½ cup of shredded parmesan over the chicken.

Next add the marinara sauce and spread on top of the parmesan. 

Then add the chopped basil. 

Next layer 4 oz. of mozzarella and 2 oz. of grated parmesan onto herbs

o     (half of the cheese). 

Then add the croutons if you are not slow baking it. 

Top with the remaining cheese. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 min. – 1 hour.  Check the chicken with a meat thermometer to be sure the meat is done and properly cooked all the way through.  **Or, slow bake the chicken, parmesan, sauce, basil, and first layer of cheese and change the temperature in the oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook for 2 – 2 ½  hours.  About 15 minutes before serving, add the croutons and the second layer of cheese and increase the oven temp to 375.  If you would like crunchier croutons or crustinis, put an additional layer on and top with a little more cheese.  Be sure to check the chicken with a meat thermometer.

*If desired serve with spaghetti pasta and extra marinara sauce.  I use vegetable Fettuccini.

Making the roasted garlic olive oil

roasted garlic olive oil in baking dish

chicken ready to pound

pounded chicken

pounded chicken in the baking dish

Parmesan Cheese Layer on Chicken

Marinara Layer

Basil Layer

Cheese mixture layer

Cheese and Crouton Layer

Just Out of the Oven

Plated and Ready to Eat