Artichoke, Mushroom, Chicken, Red Pepper & Feta Pasta Bake

Idea #372 under "400 Uses For A Rotisserie Chicken." Okay, I made that up. I haven't begun to get that far in my list of things to do with a rotisserie chicken...although, if my memory were sharp enough, it might be darn close!

This one is actually a Quickie, because the definition of a rotisserie chicken is practically instant dinner...the first night when you bring it home for a quick dinner and the multiple iterations of the leftovers, too.

Fortunately, I happened to have a few roasted red peppers from the weekend's grilled veggies and some extra baby portobellos, too. If you don't have grilled or roasted red peppers on hand or fresh mushrooms, canned and jarred is just fine. In fact, it would be even speedier. 

Once all the veggies were cooked and everything was warmed through, I simply mixed the veggies with cooked pasta, crumbled some feta in too, seasoned everything well and poured it all in the casserole dish. Into the oven for a spin and BOOM! Dinner. 

This one is easy and ready to delight the family in the blink of an eye. Okay, I made that part up, too. Not quite a blink of an eye, but pretty darned fast!

Artichoke, Mushroom, Chicken, Roasted Red Pepper & Feta Pasta Bake

• 1/2 pound penne pasta, cooked & drained (use gluten-free pasta to make this GF)
• 2 C rotisserie chicken breast, torn into large pieces
• 1 T butter
• 1T olive oil
• 12 medium-large baby portobello mushrooms, stems removed & discarded, caps sliced 1/2" thick
• 1 C roasted red peppers, jarred is fine - cut into 1" squares
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 12 oz jar marinated artichokes, drained (I REALLY like the tang of the artichokes with the creaminess of the cheese!)
• 1 T butter
• 1 t dried oregano
• salt & pepper to taste
• 6 oz feta, broken into large crumbles
• Pecorino Romano cheese, just a little freshly shredded to finish the dish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a shallow casserole dish with cooking spray.

In a skillet, melt butter and olive oil. Add sliced mushrooms and garlic; cook until mushrooms begin to wilt down. Add the red peppers and drained artichokes to the skillet and mix well. Let everything warm before adding the chicken to the skillet, too. 

In a large bowl, mix cooked pasta and the contents of the skillet. Add the additional tablespoon of butter, the oregano, salt & pepper and feta. Mix gently and thoroughly. Pour into prepared casserole dish.

Bake for 30 minutes, grate a little pecorino romano over the top and bake another 15 minutes until the grated cheese is melted. Serve with a green salad.

NOTE: One half of the full chicken breast made 2 C...those Costco rotisserie chickens are HUGE! We'd already enjoyed the thighs and wings the first night, just used half of the breast meat for this casserole...you know what that means, don't you? Chicken salad for lunch tomorrow! Mmmmm.

Also, I kept the veggie and chicken pieces large because penne is a larger pasta. If you choose to use a smaller pasta, feel free to cut the chicken and veggies smaller. Proportion!