Name: Chicken and Cheese Pasta Bake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 100 g spiral pasta; 1 piece chicken bouillon cube; 1 piece chicken breast; 1 piece onion; 1 piece bell pepper; 1 piece tomato; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 1 piece garlic clove; 200 g mozzarella cheese; 4 tbsp vegetable oil; 250 ml water

UntrainedChef

Tips from the kitchen

Cut the chicken breast into strips about the same size as your pepper and onion, so everything cooks evenly in the 15 minutes of braising.
Pull the pasta a minute before the box says al dente. It keeps cooking in the oven, and mushy spirals are the one thing that can sink this.
Crumble the bouillon cube into the water before it hits the pan, or stir it around once it's in. A whole cube tends to sit in one spot and the salt never spreads.
Tear or grate the mozzarella yourself rather than leaving it in a block. Spread out, it melts and browns instead of turning into one rubbery lump on top.
Sauté the onion and garlic on medium so the garlic softens without burning. Burnt garlic turns the whole sauce bitter and you can't fix it later.

Ways to vary it

Swap the spiral pasta for penne or fusilli if that's what you have. Anything with ridges holds the tomato sauce nicely.
If you want more vegetables in there, a handful of sliced mushrooms or some zucchini strips go in with the pepper and braise down fine.
A pinch of dried oregano or a few chili flakes stirred into the sauce gives it a bit more of a backbone, totally optional.

Storage & leftovers

Keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days in a covered container. It freezes well once cooled, so portion it out and it'll hold for about 2 months. Reheat in the oven at 160°C with a splash of water over the top, or microwave single portions until hot through.