The Freshman Cook: Homestyle Marinara w/ Chicken and Whole Grain Rotini

My husband and my son are pasta lovers. They could eat it everyday! I am not a pasta lover. I have always loved Italian sauces, but the pasta, no, it wasn’t my thing. But last night I decided to cook some whole grain rotini I bought last week at the grocery. What a treat! It was so good-maybe I do love pasta! I covered the pasta with a homemade marinara that is simple, quick, and tasty! That actually describes the entire meal!
Homestyle Marinara w/ Chicken and Whole Grain Rotini  1-28 ounce can of Whole Peeled Tomatoes 1-2 cloves Garlic Vegetable Oil 1-2 teaspoons Dried Italian Seasoning Pinch of Sugar 1 Bay Leaf 1 box Barilla Whole Grain Rotini Pasta 1 pound raw Chicken Breasts Vegetable Spray

Cheese-Mozzarella or Provolone

Place your can of tomatoes in your food processor and puree them.
If you don’t mind tomato pieces in your sauce, there is no 
need to puree. I have some picky eaters in this house! You can 
just chop the tomatoes into small bite sizes pieces.
It will look nice and smooth like this.
Chop up your garlic clove.

Heat your garlic clove in the vegetable oil.

Once your garlic pieces start to brown go ahead and
add your sauce to the pan.
Add 2 teaspoons of dried italian seasoning, a pinch of sugar  and 1 bay leaf. Let simmer for 30-40 minutes. Boil the water and cook your pasta.
Cut your chicken into bite size pieces and grill them in a pan sprayed with vegetable spray. Put it altogether. I layered rotini pasta in the bottom, sauce on top, then chicken, more sauce, and then cheese. I used the rotini because all the edges in the pasta hold the sauce. That is also why I served this in bowls. I used a 4 cheese mix because that is what I had on hand. It was actually pretty good on the pasta!

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