Okay, here’s where the story got interesting. At the store, I forgot all about the Rotel Tomatoes and thought I remembered a creamy sauce. Plus, I thought I would sneak in a vegetable to this one pot wonder of a meal. I told hubby what I was making for dinner that night and came home and got to fixing….
Imagine hubby’s surprise when the meal he was anticipating wasn’t the actual meal on the table at all. Imagine my surprise when the meal that I prepared wasn’t at all the meal that I thought I was preparing. We had a good laugh. I resolved to start writing things down. But, we tried it and the whole family really liked it. Hence, it is ALMOST the Pinterest Pasta that I had intended.
I recently took this to a family game night and it went over terribly well. Several asked for the recipe, so I figured in an effort of full disclosure, I would post both recipes because we enjoy them both so very much. This is my version….
Almost Pinterest Pasta
1 quart chicken broth
1 pound chicken meat, shredded or chunked
1 pound pasta (any will do, we use penne most of the time, but I love the bowties for the cute factor. Lately, I have been eating whole wheat, but the hubby and kids aren’t convinced yet)
One package of frozen leaf spinach (preferably not chopped)
1 cup of heavy cream
1-2 cups mozzarella cheese
Gluten Free option: use only Gluten Free pasta of any type and grate your own cheese to avoid any flour used to dust pre-shredded cheese).
Other options: this is a very forgiving recipe. Any meat can be used. If the meat needs to be browned, use 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil in pot to brown and add ingredients to it per the instructions. Any veggie that is good in a casserole could be good in this. Use what you have on hand. Think leftovers. We will be using this on Thanksgiving weekend to give left over turkey a new lease on life. You can substitute some evaporated milk, half and half, fat free half and half or whatever you like to make the cheese sauce. It just needs to be thicker than milk. I might even try mixing some dry milk powder with milk to thicken it a bit. The sky is the limit with this one!
Add chicken broth to large pan with lid (we use a 5 quart dutch oven). Add chicken meat and bring to a boil.
Add pasta and cook for about 5 minutes.
Add frozen spinach and return to boil for about 5 more minutes or until pasta is just done.
Remove from heat and add cream and cheese. Mix to combine and melt cheese.
Serve and enjoy.
Please share in the comments if you have tried this recipe or a variation and let us know how it turned out!
Till next time,
Another Hatchett Job.... 