Chicken and Spinach Penne (aka: That Stuff With Leaves In It)

This is a delicious way to get your family to eat spinach. Lexie (a hater of veggies) asks me to make that stuff that has leaves in it. This is one of her favorites. When I was on bed rest, one of the ladies I worked with brought us something similar to this. Unfortunately I didn't get the recipe from her, but this is what I came up with.


half a loaf of French bread
2 chicken breasts diced
3/4 cup of onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/3 cup flour
3 3/4 cups reduced fat milk
1/2 cup half-and-half (I use fat free half-and-half. I was amazed that they had fat free half-and-half. I thought fat was the whole point!)
1 bag of fresh baby spinach, chopped
1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese (not the stuff in the can)
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 pound box penne pasta, cooked according to package directions
1/4 cup butter




1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Put the bread in the food processor; pulse a few times until you have coarse crumbs. (If you do not have a food processor, you can just tear the bread into small pieces.)

3. Place flour in a small bowl. Gradually add 3/4 cup of milk, stirring until smooth. Set aside.

4. In a large pan, saute the chicken, onion, and garlic. When the chicken is cooked, add the flour mixture, 3 cups of milk, and half-and-half to the pan. Bring it to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat, and simmer until thick (about 2-3 minutes)- still stirring constantly. Add the spinach, and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add the cheese, salt, and pepper. Stir until the cheese melts.

5. Place the cooked pasta in a large bowl. Add the sauce to the pasta, and toss until the pasta is coated. Pour the pasta and sauce into a 9X13 dish. (Use non-stick cooking spray.)

6. Melt the butter. Combine the breadcrumbs and butter. Sprinkle the crumbs over the pasta.

7. Bake at 425 degrees until the crumbs are lightly browned. (5-10 minutes)



**It is better to reheat the leftovers in the oven, so the crumbs will get crispy again. Microwave reheating works too, but the crumbs will be more bread like.