Chicken Parmigiana and Pasta

I was looking for something quick (because I had little time) and with chicken (since I had some in the fridge) so I looked to Giada's recipe for Chicken Parmigiana and Pasta. Sounded good, so I looked quickly through the recipe before I went to the store for dry nonfat milk to make homemade hamburger buns. Who knew I'd have to buy a box that makes 8 quarts of milk? I only needed 1/3 cup. I passed and bought buns instead. While I was there, I was thinking of the recipe I was going to make, and I didn't remember seeing any tomato sauce in it. I bought a jar of spaghetti sauce anyway, just in case. Because how do you have Chicken Parmigiana without tomato sauce?

Anyway, when I got home I looked at the recipe again and the "dressing" was a balsamic vinaigrette. Not really what I was looking for, so I used the spaghetti sauce instead. Super easy and really yummy.

1 1/2 lb chicken tenders (I cut up chicken breasts into chunks)

1 C buttermilk

3/4 C Italian seasoned breadcrumbs (I used panko - it's what I had - and added Italian seasoning)

1 1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese

1lb whole wheat penne

1 jar spaghetti sauce of your choice (I used Classico Marinara)

Preheat oven to 500. Line a heavy duty sheet pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.

Place the chicken in a bowl with the buttermilk and set aside; let marinate for 15-30 minutes.

Mix Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs in a pie plate.

Cook pasta according to package directions, until al dente; drain

Preheat oven to 500. Line a heavy duty sheet pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.

Remove the chicken from the buttermilk, letting the excess drain off. Dredge chicken in breadcrumb mixture, pressing to make sure it sticks. Line chicken up on prepared cookie sheet; top with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Bake chicken approximately 12 minutes or until cooked through. Add chicken to cooked pasta and toss with spaghetti sauce.