Tasty Tuesday (on a Thursday)–Baked Pasta Casserole

Welcome to another week of Tasty Tuesday here at The Young'ns!
There’s a recipe index under the food tab above if you’re ever looking for a recipe I’ve already blogged.
Every Monday, I plan on trying a new recipe. If it goes well, that’s what I’ll be posting on Tasty Tuesday. If not, I’ll post a tried and true (i.e. something I don’t have to think about too hard) ;)

So, I mentioned in my Menu Plan Monday post that I was making this tasty classic this week and was shocked to see that I haven’t posted the recipe yet! I have no idea where we originally got this recipe, but growing up, we made it often. It’s simple yet delicious and much more interesting than just plain ol’ noodles and sauce. This is the way I make it, I’m sure my mom and my sister (if she still makes it) and even my dad have their own little tweaks to it :) This time, I made it with mini farfalle and served it with a side of peas. Kahlen still won’t eat anything that looks at all interesting, so she had just plain noodles, but Nate thought it was awesome. Fresh garlic bread would also be good with it. And dang, we ate it before I could take a picture :/

Baked Pasta Casserole with Chicken

Serves 6 adults.

Prep Time: 20 minutes + 40 minutes baking time

{Ingredients}

• 1 pound noodles, any kind
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon season salt
• 1 large container cottage cheese, small curd (I think the container is 1 lb 8 oz)
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2/3 cup fresh grated parmesan or other hard Italian cheese, plus more for topping
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic or about 3 cloves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 large jar spaghetti sauce

{Directions}

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook noodles according to package.
3. Melt butter in a skillet. Dice chicken and add to skillet. Cook until about half done, about 5 minutes, and add season salt. Cook until chicken is completely cooked, about 10 minutes total.
4. Combine cottage cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, parsley, garlic, and salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
5. Spray a 9 x 13 or similar-sized casserole dish with cooking spray. Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom. Layer half of cheese mixture, half of chicken, a thick layer of noodles, and then a layer of sauce. Repeat all layers. Top with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes, until it’s bubbly and hot through.

~S