Chicken Bake with Pasta and Spinach

I had to guess on the prep time – I was throwing this together by the seat of my pants, so I was a bit disorganized and could have done a better job if I had a plan going into it. This is a very easy recipe, but it does have a good bit of prep work in it.

All of the quantities of ingredients are easily adjusted to whatever quantity you want to make and whatever ingredients you have on hand. Go wild!

I find it easiest to dump all my ingredients into a large mixing bowl as I’m done prepping them, and then I can just mix it all together and pour it in the pan.

Pre-heat oven to 350F.

Put your pasta water on to boil, and continue prepping the rest of the food as you’re waiting for it to boil and then cooking the pasta. Don’t overcook the pasta (and this goes for all the ingredients in prep)! This is going to go into the oven as well so it will finish cooking in there. Cook pasta to al dente, according to package instructions.

Heat about 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Thinly slice your shallots, and toss them with just a sprinkle of sugar (I like what this adds to the caramelization, but you could certainly leave it out). Cook the shallots in the skillet, stirring frequently, and when they’ve picked up some color take them off the heat and add to a mixing bowl.

Add a bit more oil to the pan, and add your spinach. This can be done in batches if you need to. Use your tongs to turn the spinach often, sort of “tossing” it like you would a salad, until it starts to wilt. When it starts to wilt, remove it from the heat and add to your mixing bowl.

If you don’t want to wait for your pasta to finish cooking before you start the sauce (and save yourself a pot to clean!), warm your chicken stock in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add your cream cheese, and let it melt into the sauce, stirring occasionally. Once the cream cheese is melted, add about half a cup of your shredded parmesan and let it melt in, and then slice and dice your sun-dried tomatoes and add them in. Let it just hang out over low heat while you finish the rest of the prep.

Add a bit more oil to your skillet – just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Make sure your chicken is cut into bite size pieces – I left mine a little large and wished I had cut them smaller. Toss the chicken in the flour, just enough to get a dusting on the pieces. Cook the chicken in the skillet JUST until done – remember, it’s going to go in the oven too, and we don’t want the chicken to dry out and get tough. When the chicken is done, into the mixing bowl it goes!

Add your sauce to all the ingredients in the mixing bowl, and stir until everything is coated. Pour into a lightly oiled baking dish (I use the Pam spray). I used an 8×8 dish and another small oval dish – this would probably just fill a 13×9 dish. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese across the top, and then, if you’re like me and you like a little crunch on top of the casserole, sprinkle breadcrumbs across the top. Pop into your 350F oven for about 20 minutes, until the top has started to brown.

Yum!