Creamy Penne Pasta Casserole

Begin by having all of your ingredients prepared and cooked ahead of time. That means your chicken and your pasta. The other ingredients should be prepared as well. You can prepare all of your vegetables get them diced or chopped while the pasta and chicken are cooking.

Preheat your oven to 350 F.

Bring a skillet to medium-high heat. Add in the olive oil, then toss in the peppers, onions, spinach and garlic. You only want to cook for a few minutes to sweat the onions and garlic, and slightly wilt the spinach. After a few minutes, remove the skillet from the stove.

Into a saucepan over medium heat, add the butter, and let it completely melt. Next, add in the flour, and incorporate this into the butter, mixing with a wooden spoon for about 3 minutes. It will begin to turn a nutty brown color. This is good. Slowly add in the half-and-half, then the milk. Raise the heat a bit, and continue stirring for about 5 minutes, if not longer, until the sauce begins to thicken.

Season the sauce with the salt, pepper and Old Bay, and give a good stir. Add in the cheese. Stir it, then remove the saucepan from the heat.

Into a large mixing bowl, add in the pasta, sauteed veggies, chicken and kielbasa. Give it a good stir, then pour in the sauce. Continue to stir until all of your ingredients are nicely coated with the cheese sauce.

Pour this mixture into a large casserole dish (I used a deep 9×9 baking dish) and place in the oven for 25 minutes, or until the cheese is nice and bubbly.

When you pull this dish out of the oven, it is a thing of delight. The spinach balances out the creaminess of the pasta, and then the smokey punch of the kielbasa along with the garlic and onion hits you. My oh my, this one was delicious.

To plate, simply serve at the table and dig in. My wife and I were in heaven when we took our first bite.