As I was digging around the freezer I found a slice of pancetta (I usually buy it in the deli and have them slice it about a quarter of an inch thick) which I diced small and then fried in a nontstick pan until crisp and all of the fat had rendered out. Even though most of the fat was out, I still like to drain fried bacon or pancetta on a paper towel – and usually I sneak several nibbles of it while it’s sitting there.

Next I put two boneless chicken breasts into a baking dish and seasoned them liberally with salt, pepper, and ground up red pepper flakes…
before pouring the marinara sauce over the top and sprinkling each breast with some of the crispy pancetta.

Finally, I topped each breast with a couple of slices of provolone cheese, covered the whole thing with foil, and baked it until the chicken was fully cooked, about 40 minutes.

While the chicken was cooking, I boiled a big pot of water to cook some whole wheat spaghetti. One of the Italian tricks is to undercook your pasta, then continue cooking it in the sauce you’re going to serve it in. So I took the chicken out of the baking dish, drained the pasta and put it back in the pot along with the sauce, and let it simmer for another minute or two to absorb the sauce and finish cooking. For extra yumminess I threw in a handful of grated Parmesan cheese.