Chicken and Vegetable Pasta Casserole

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
10 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
8 ounces mushrooms, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped (about 1-2 stick or a handful or 2 of baby carrots)
1 cup celery, chopped (about 2-3 stalks)
2 cloves garlic, minced
¹⁄₂ cup all purpose flour
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup half and half
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies
4 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup panko
1 pound short pasta, such as penne
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350*F. 

2. Heat oil in large ovensafe skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Cook on each side for 5 to 10 minutes or until cooked through.  Remove from pan and allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting into small pieces. 

3. Melt 8 tablespoons butter in same pan.  Add onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, carrots, celery and garlic.  Sauté, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender.  Sprinkle flour over vegetables and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add chicken broth and continue stirring until sauce thickens.  Add half and half and stir until combined.  Stir in tomatoes, green chilies, 3 cups cheese and chicken.  Stir until cheese has melted.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 

4. Meanwhile, bring large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta 1 minutes less than packaging directs.  Drain pasta well.  Add pasta to sauce and stir well to combine. 

5. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in small bowl in microwave.  Stir in panko.  Top pasta mixture with remaining cheese and panko mixture.  Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.  Let casserole rest 5 minutes before serving. 

Comments
This recipe is from The Meaning of Pie and I chose it because I thought it would be a nice, easy, and comforting meal to bring together.  And it was!  Delicious.  Lance thought the grape tomatoes were a bit odd due to their sweetness, but Art and I thought it was pretty much perfect. 

I would suggest making this in a large Dutch oven (6-7 quarts) because this generates quite a lot of food.  Your goal for vegetables (onions, bell pepper, mushrooms, carrots and celery) is about 6 cups total, excluding the grape tomatoes.  Any shape of pasta would work, I just like using pasta that makes stirring easy when I’m making casseroles.

Internet - The Meaning of Pie