Tuesday, May 12, 2009

A Yummy Pasta Dish

I made this one day last week and we had it for dinner and then stuck it in the freezer since we weren't going to be eating at home again for a few days. We thawed it out last night and had it for dinner again and it was still FANTASTICO!

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups multi-grain penne pasta, uncooked (I used Tri-Color Rigatoni b/c it's what I had)
1 pkg. (9 oz.) fresh spinach leaves (My bag was only 6 oz but it was plenty!)
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces (I probably used 2 pounds just to have more protein)
1 tsp. dried basil leaves (I used fresh basil leaves from my new basil plant)
1 jar (14-1/2 oz.) spaghetti sauce (I use Prego)
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained
2 oz. (1/4 of 8-oz. pkg.) Cream Cheese, cubed (I didn't cube mine but it would probably speed up melting)
2 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided
2 Tbsp. Grated Parmesan Cheese (I used Kraft Asiago, Romano, Parmesan blended version!)



HEAT oven to 375ºF.

COOK pasta as directed on package, adding spinach to the boiling water the last minute.

COOK and stir chicken and basil in large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat 3 min. Stir in spaghetti sauce and tomatoes; bring to boil. Simmer on low heat 3 min. or until chicken is done. Stir in cream cheese.

DRAIN pasta mixture; return to pan. Stir in chicken mixture and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Spoon into 2-qt. casserole or 9-inch square baking dish.

BAKE 20 min. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses. Bake 3 min.