Smothered Italian Chicken with Buttered Garlic Spaghetti

My love for red sauce and pasta inspired this dish.  It looks elegant, yet is fairly simple!  And the flavor will knock your socks off.  My homemade basil marinara sauce is key!

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You know sometimes you just throw dinner together not expecting much and it turns out fabulous.  This dish was exactly that.

I had chicken thawed, along with a quart of my crock pot basil marinara sauce and a box of spaghetti noodles staring at me every time I opened the pantry cupboard.  The kids love spaghetti, of any kind, so I figured I'd bake the chicken, throw on some sauce and call it good.

But, then I got thinking....

If I cook the chicken low and slow and let it just simmer away in my flavorful sauce, and of course add some more seasonings, I bet this can be pretty good.  I was right!

As I've always said the trick to flavorful chicken are two things: #1 - Not drying it out {hence simmering away in red sauce} and #2 - providing LOTS of flavor.  So long story short, if you cook it right and add enough stuff, it will taste pretty darn good.

I ended up making this dish around 2 o'clock in the afternoon this past weekend due to fading natural light for photos {the problems of a food blogger} and hence the kids and I ate dinner at 4 p.m.

You pick your battles.

It was still good.  We gobbled it up and we even have two leftover pieces of chicken leftover in the fridge.  Win, win.

Smothered Italian Chicken with Buttered Garlic Spaghetti

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4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 quart chunky basil marinara sauce {use my homemade version, or store bought}
1 T. onion flakes
1 T. garlic powder
1 T. Italian seasoning
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 lb. spaghetti noodles
1/2 stick unsalted butter
3 cloves of garlic, diced

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2.  Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and lay in thawed chicken breasts.
3.  Generously coat the chicken with the onion flakes, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese.
4.  Pour in the marinara sauce.
5.  Bake covered with foil in the oven for 30 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake another 30 minutes, spooning some of the marinara over the chicken.
6.  While the chicken is finishing cooking, cook spaghetti noodles, drain, set aside and keep warm.
7.  In a small saucepan melt the butter, along with the diced garlic.  Let the melted butter simmer on LOW, allowing the garlic to flavor the butter.
8.  Remove the butter from the heat and strain out the garlic pieces {keep in fairly big chunks so it is easier to pick out}.
9.  Pour the melted garlic butter over the spaghetti and toss to coat.
10.  When chicken is cooked, top each breast with handful of mozzarella cheese.  Place the oven to broil and cook for 3-4 minutes, just until bubbly.
11.  Serve the smothered chicken with the buttered garlic spaghetti.

This dish is perfect for Sunday dinner, yet easy enough for a weeknight.  I have also made it on Sunday, stuck it in the fridge and then waited to bake it and have it for mid-week. Honestly, I feel the flavor is even better the longer you wait!

Want some other great Italian dishes?

Chicken Pesto Penne
Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Roll-ups
Healthy Turkey Bolognese
Million Dollar Casserole
Baked Ravioli Lasagna
Sausage Penne alla Vodka
Baked Pizza Pasta