Baked Garlic Chicken & Mozzarella With Pasta * Fazoli's Copy

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1/2 cup biscuit mix
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 4 boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 quart home-made tomato sauce
• 1 (28 ounce) can spaghetti sauce
• 3-5 garlic cloves, minced (or pressed)
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 12 ounces linguine, cooked & drained (or fettucini)
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (set aside for later)

Directions

1. 1

   Preheat frying pan to medium high; preheat oven to 350. Grease 13x9 pan with 1 T. of the olive oil.

2. 2

   In a medium bowl, combine biscuit mix, Parmesan, basil, oregano, garlic and pepper.

3. 3

   Pull "tenders" from breast halves. Dredge all pieces in the biscuit mixture; pressing it on as necessary.

4. 4

   Add remaining oil to hot frying pan, and brown the chicken pieces, turning to brown all sides. Remove pan from heat.

5. 5

   While meat is browning, mix tomato and spaghetti sauces; add garlic & more herbs if you wish. (I'm very heavy-handed with the basil & oregano.).

6. 6

   Spread a layer of cooked pasta over the bottom (about 1/3 of total pasta) of the 13x9 pan. Sprinkle with 1/4 of the Mozzarella cheese. Spread about a cup of the sauce over this. Repeat twice. (You should have about a cup of cheese left.)

7. 7

   Lay the chicken pieces over the last layer of pasta-cheese-sauce. Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the meat, sprinkle on the remaining Mozzarella.

8. 8

   Pop in the oven for 30 minutes; then sprinkle on reserved Parmesan cheese, bake for 10 more minutes.

9. 9

   SERVE: A small green salad and a few slices of crisp apple or orange or a handful of grapes are delicious accompaniments.

10. 10

    PLANNED OVERS #1: Whatever meat is left, cut into bite-size pieces, mix thoroughly into remaining pasta, cheese and sauce. At the next meal, you may need to add a few drops of water or sauce to juice it up, but reheated--this works beautifully.

11. 11

    PLANNED OVERS #2: If no meat is left-over, spread pasta in the bottom of a greased casserole, lay some pepperoni slices over the top, sprinkle with a bit of Cheddar cheese, and bake until bubbly. Sounds like SUPPER!

12. 12

    SUBSTITUTIONS: Add some chili powder to the sauce (try some salsa in there), minced (dried) onions, lots of black olives, and you have a Taco-y flavored dish instead!