In any case, this is yet another of my go-to recipes because the prep is pretty quick (and, in fact, it can easily be prepared well ahead of time and just popped in the oven an hour before I'm ready to eat). This recipe is adapted from my dad's (fancier and more involved) chicken parmesan recipe. Enjoy!
Easy Chicken Spaghetti (serves 3-4)
- 1 large or 2 smaller boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into small pieces
- 1 bottle of spaghetti sauce (my current favorite is Francesco Rinaldi's Three Cheese, but the bottle is about 4oz smaller than your standard Prego or Ragu)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 red onion, minced
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- Fresh cracked pepper
- 1/8 c grated parmesan cheese
- Whole wheat pasta (spaghetti, vermicelli, linguine, etc.)
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
2. Place raw cut-up chicken in the casserole dish. Cover with half of the minced garlic and minced onions, 1/2 tsp oregano and 1/2 tsp basil. Crack pepper over chicken. Stir with a fork.
3. In a separate bowl, combine sauce, 1/3 c water, the rest of the onion and garlic, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp basil, 1/2 tsp thyme, parmesan cheese, and cracked black pepper. Pour sauce mixture over top of chicken.
4. Cover and cook for 30 minutes. At this point, stir chicken into the sauce and cook for 20 more minutes.
5. Cook pasta to al dente per directions on box, and drain.
6. Combine sauce and pasta and top with shredded mozzarella cheese.
Note: I also frequently add some red pepper flakes to this dish after cooking to give it a little spice. Makes AMAZING leftovers!
