Cheesy Chicken Pasta

 I find myself eating a lot of pasta lately and this is one of many pasta dishes I've made recently for dinner/lunch. Takes a lot more time and effort to make than my quick 15minutes yummy concoctions but it was worth the wait and Mr. D. was one happy eater even went back for a second round.

In other news, my phone is back! All it needed was a new battery and some extra care. I love my phone and I'm not ready to part ways with it even though I know I have to soon. With that said, since my phone is fully functionally again, that means I have pictures from the wedding weekend which I'll be sharing with you soon.

Ingredients
2 Chicken breast
9 oz Penne pasta
16 oz can tomato sauce
3 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
8 oz Mozzarella cheese, grated, divided
1 pint grape tomatoes, halve
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion
1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tbsp freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup fresh Basil  leaves, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil, divided
 salt to taste

Directions
1. Cook pasta to al dente following directions on package. Drain cooked pasta and return to pot.
2. Pound chicken to even thickness, season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to a grilling pan on medium heat. Allow to heat up, the add chicken and grill till chicken is cooked through. Remove form heat, allow to cool down a bit and dice into thin strips
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
4. In a medium pan over med-low heat, heat 2 tbsp olive oil, add garlic and onion, saute for 1 minute, add tomato sauce and tomato paste, Parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper, ground pepper and salt.  Stir continuously while cooking until cheese melts.
5. Add diced chicken strips, grape tomatoes, half mozzarella cheese, basil and cooked  tomato sauce mixture to pasta. Toss and mix till evenly coated. Pour pasta mixture into a greased baking dish, sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and bake for about 20 minutes.
6. Serve and enjoy!