Pasta Bake with Green Beans

I made this a while ago (I'm a little backlogged on these recipes--been busy job hunting and getting a part time job since my real job hunt hasn't been going anywhere). It was very easy and very delicious. The original recipe was double this one and also had a bit of wine in it, but I thought it was just as flavorful without. For the vegetables, I used celery, broccoli, carrots, and an orange bell pepper. It may not have met the exact measurements of the recipe, but so long as you have the cooking times down it's a very flexible recipe! I served the pasta bake with some store bought garlic bread and the green beans (recipe below). The beans were a bit spicy so I'd probably limit the pepper flakes next time!

Chicken and Roasted Vegetable Bake
Recipe adapted by me from Lisa's Dinnertime Dish

2 cups assorted vegetables
olive oil
salt and pepper
1/2 box whole wheat penne pasta, cooked for 7 minutes (you still want it to have a bite)
1.25 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
2 cups marinara sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Chop vegetables into bite size pieces.  Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and spread on a baking sheet.  Roast in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until softened and starting to caramelize.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

While veggies are roasting, cut up chicken into 1 inch chunks and season with salt and pepper.  Heat about 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add chicken and cook until starting to brown (you don’t want to cook the chicken through at this point).  Pour wine over chicken, bring to a boil and reduce for about 2 minutes.  Stir in marinara sauce.

In a large bowl, combine pasta, roasted veggies and chicken mixture.  Transfer mixture to either one large 9×9 baking dish, coated with cooking spray or two smaller baking dishes.  Sprinkle cheeses over the top.

If baking right away, cover with foil and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, uncover and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted and pasta is heated through.  If you froze one of the pans, defrost before baking and you may have to add an additional 5-10 minutes to the cooking time.


Green Beans with Lemon and Garlic
Recipe from foodnetwork.com

2 pounds green beans, ends trimmed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon lemon zest
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Blanch green beans in a large stock pot of well salted boiling water until bright green in color and tender crisp, roughly 2 minutes. Drain and shock in a bowl of ice water to stop from cooking.

Heat a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the oil and the butter. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the beans and continue to saute until coated in the butter and heated through, about 5 minutes. Add lemon zest and season with salt and pepper.