Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina

Courtesy Giada De Laurentiis "Everyday Italian"





Ingredients:
1 C pastina pasta (or any small pasta)
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 C cubed chicken breast (1" cubes)
1/2 C diced onion (abt 1/2 a sm onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes w/ juice
1 C shredded mozzarella
1/4 C chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 C bread crumbs
1/4 C grated Parmesan
1 Tbs butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Place the mixture in a buttered 8x8x2" baking dish. In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top w/ small bits of butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.