Baked Penne with Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Baked Penne with Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Hey everyone, I hope you are having an incredible day today. Today, I will show you a way to prepare a distinctive dish, baked penne with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes. It is one of my favorites food recipes. This time, I am going to make it a bit tasty. This will be really delicious.

Baked Penne with Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomatoes is one of the most popular of current trending meals in the world. It’s enjoyed by millions daily. It is easy, it’s quick, it tastes yummy. Baked Penne with Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomatoes is something that I have loved my entire life. They are nice and they look fantastic.

To begin with this recipe, we must prepare a few components. You can have baked penne with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes using 12 ingredients and 5 steps. Here is how you can achieve that.

The ingredients needed to make Baked Penne with Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomatoes:
  1. Get 6 tbsp butter, plus more for baking dishes
  2. Make ready 1 Coarse salt and ground pepper
  3. Make ready 1 lb penne rigate
  4. Take 1 tsp olive oil
  5. Make ready 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (8 ounces each), halved horizontally
  6. Take 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
  7. Take 4 garlic cloves, minced
  8. Take 6 cup whole milk
  9. Take 10 oz white mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
  10. Get 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and thinly sliced
  11. Prepare 1 1/2 cup shredded provolone (6 ounces)
  12. Make ready 1 cup finely grated Parmesan (4 ounces)
Steps to make Baked Penne with Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomatoes:
  1. Preheat oven to 400. Butter two shallow 2-quart baking dishes. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes short of al dente; drain pasta, and return to pot.
  2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Season chicken with salt and pepper; cook until opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Halve each piece lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise.
  3. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, melt butter over medium. Add flour and garlic; cook, whisking, 1 minute. While whisking, gradually add milk; bring to a simmer, whisking frequently. Add mushrooms and tomatoes; cook 1 minute. Off heat, gradually stir in provolone and 1/2 cup Parmesan.
  4. Add chicken and pasta to pot; season with salt and pepper. Divide pasta mixture between baking dishes; sprinkle each with cup Parmesan.
  5. Bake, uncovered, until top is golden and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Use Food to Elevate Your Mood

A lot of us have been trained to think that comfort foods are bad and to be avoided. Sometimes, if your comfort food is made of candy or other junk foods, this is true. Otherwise, comfort foods may be really healthy and good for you. There are several foods that, when you eat them, can better your mood. If you feel a little bit down and need a happiness pick me up, try some of these.

Eggs, you might be surprised to discover, are fantastic at battling depression. Just make sure that you don’t toss out the egg yolk. The yolk is the part of the egg that is the most crucial in terms of helping raise your mood. Eggs, the yolk particularly, are stuffed full of B vitamins. B vitamins can actually help you raise your mood. This is because they help improve the function of your neural transmitters, the parts of your brain that control your mood. Eat an egg and cheer up!

Put together a trail mix out of seeds and/or nuts. Peanuts, cashews, sunflower seeds, almonds, pumpkin seeds, etc are all great for helping to raise your mood. This is possible as these foods are high in magnesium which promotes serotonin production. Serotonin is a feel-good substance that directs the brain how to feel at any given point in time. The more of it you have, the better you are going to feel. Not just that but nuts, specifically, are a fantastic source of protein.

If you would like to beat depression, try eating some cold water fish. Salmon, herring, tuna, mackerel, trout, and so on, they’re all chock-full of omega-3 and DHA. These are two substances that boost the quality and function of the grey matter in your brain. It’s the truth: consuming tuna fish sandwiches can actually help you fight your depression.

It’s not difficult to overcome your bad mood when you consume grains. Quinoa, millet, teff and barley are all really great for helping boost your happiness levels. They can help you feel full for longer as well, which is a mood improver. Feeling starved can be terrible! The reason these grains help your mood so much is that they are easy to digest. They are simpler to digest than other foods which helps raise your blood sugar levels and that, in turn, elevates your mood.

Green tea is really great for your mood. You knew green tea had to be in this article somewhere, right? Green tea is rich in an amino acid referred to as L-theanine. Research has found that this amino acid induces the production of brain waves. This helps focus your mental energy while at the same time relaxing the rest of your body. You likely already knew it is not hard to become healthy when you consume green tea. Now you know that applies to your mood also!

As you can see, you don’t have to turn to junk food or foods that are terrible for you so you can feel better! Try a few of these suggestions instead.