Quick and Easy Baked Cheesy Chicken Alfredo

It's been a few weeks since my last post because I've fallen victim to the "I'm too busy to cook" syndrome. Yes, work has started to pick up and since the weather is nicer out I am more and more tempted to take in dinner at one of my new favorite restaurants downtown. But then I got to thinking, there isn't anything wrong with making quick and easy meals (**disclaimer** not easy meals like that awful Sandra Lee and her 'Semi Homemade' show on the foodnetwork - she's just annoying). 


For dinner tonight I made a really easy Baked Cheesy Chicken Alfredo - and it was delicious. But, I can't take full credit for it - I had plenty of help from Classico's Four Cheese Alfredo sauce.

Overview:
This meal was great because it was delicious, easy, but still allowed me to use some creativity. All it really is, is a combination of several pre-made products. It made enough for two, with plenty of leftovers (something I'll be thankful for come Monday at work).


Recipe:
1 jar of Alfredo Sauce (recommended: Classico Four Cheese)
1 box of noodles (recommended: Bow Tie)
6 small skinless, lean chicken breast tenders
1 cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese
1 cup shredded Asiago Cheese
1  cup shredded Fontina Cheese
10 crumbled Italian Crackers (recommended: Italian Flat Bread Crackers)
2 garlic cloves
Dash of oregano 
Dash of parsley
Dash of garlic powder
Dash of salt and pepper


Directions:
The first thing I started with was the chicken. I poured some Olive Oil in a pan and let it get hot. Meanwhile I seasoned the chicken breasts with all the ingredients above. While I was waiting for the pan to get hot, I filled a pot with water and threw some salt in. Something new I tried this time was dropping two cloves of garlic in the boiling water. This adds just another layer of flavor to the noodles before you even add any sauce.


The chicken took about 4 minutes to cook on each side. I always burn chicken so I was very attentive and made sure there was plenty of oil to prevent that. Once it was finished I plated the chicken and diced it into small pieces (about 1/4 of an inch).


By this time, the pasta was ready to be drained. In the pot I took the pasta, the alfredo sauce, and the chicken and stirred until mixed thoroughly. Then I took 1/2 of each cheese and added it into the pot. Once everything was mixed nicely, I poured it into the dish. 


I toped the dish with the remaining cheese and some crush Italian Crackers to use as breadcrumbs. The crunch adds a really nice texture.

Like I said - this meal is SUPER easy. It may not make you feel like a chef, because you are using all pre-made ingredients - but it's still nice to have a home-made dinner. And besides, it still takes SOME skill to put this stuff together :)