Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina

This Giada recipe is one of those famous ones in my circle of friends, everyone loves it. I haven't made it in ages, but when my friend Leslie mentioned she was making it for dinner, I knew it had to go on my agenda. Here is the original recipe, I've made a couple changes, noted below.

Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina

1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta, I used small shells)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup cubed chicken breast, 1-inch cubes (I don't think this is nearly enough chicken, I cut up an entire package of chicken tenders)
1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 a small onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I use 1 package of frozen
spinach instead and add it into the chicken mixture)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the
pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5
minutes. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat.
Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic,
stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the
chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Put the chicken
mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes,
mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Place
the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish. In a small
bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle
over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of
butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes

Chicken, onion and garlic cooking

Right out of the oven