This Pasta recipe will match all your cravings! Not only that, you can eat everything, but the dish! It’s so scrum-didily-umptious! A great comfort food! Don’t worry if you’re not a carnivore like me, just sub out the chicken with tofu! And use a non dairy type of cheese for melting! You can even pre-make the chicken/tofu and sauce and freeze it for another night to later add to your pasta! Not only is it good, but it’s sweet and spicy! The best of both worlds if you ask me!
*The Ingredients*
For the pasta sauce
• 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes
• 3/4 cups sun dried tomatoes
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1-2 tablespoons minced garlic
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 1/2 cups diced mushrooms
• One block of cream cheese
• 2 cups of fresh spinach
1 box of whatever pasta you’d like to use. I used bowtie pasta, but you could even turn it into a spaghetti dish.
For the chicken
• A splash of olive oil
• One pack of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Onion powder
• Paprika
• Honey
• Italian Seasoning
*The Recipe*
Set your oven to 375 degrees.
Start out by grabbing a 9 by 13 baking dish. Add the cherry tomatoes and sun dried tomatoes first. Then add in the minced garlic, along with the olive oil. Mix those ingredients all together until the olive oil has covered everything.
Next you’re going to want to get a cutting board and slice all your mushrooms. They can be sliced thin or chunky. Mine are always chunky, you get more mushroom, but it doesn’t take up that much space in your dish. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Mix it together again and then divide your ingredients into two separate parts of the pan and add your block of cream cheese to the middle.
Then put your dish into the oven and let it bake for 40 minutes.
Next your going to want to start your pasta. You can use any type of pasta you want, I used bowtie pasta.
Grab a pot, add however much water is needed to cover your pasta of choice and start boiling your water. While you’re waiting for your water to boil on medium high heat, you’re going to want to prep your chicken breasts. So pat them dry with a towel and grab a cooking pan. Add a splash of olive oil to your pan before laying down your chicken.
Once you’re chicken is cooking on medium high heat, it should be time to add your pasta to the boiling water in your pot. Add a pinch of salt and stir in your pasta on low heat.
Then go back to the chicken and add some Italian seasoning to both sides. Once your chicken breast are no longer raw, but are more white looking add some paprika, onion powder and a squeeze of honey to lather onto each chicken breast.
When you’re chicken are done they should have a burnt, grilled, light brown crispy look to them. Turn off the heat and set them aside before they get over burnt.
By that time your pasta should be just right, although it may have to cook a little longer if it’s not absorbed the water and is not soft or squishy.
When your pasta is done, you’ll want to strain out the water and add it back to its pot keeping it on low heat.
Then it should be time to take out your oven dish. Grab some mitts and remove it from the heat. Add your spinach to the hot dish and mix all the ingredients together. The block of cream cheese should mix in, beautifully. The cream cheese should also be slightly brown from baking.
Once all mixed in, you can either add the pasta to your hot dish or your hot dish to your pasta depending on what type of pasta you chose to do. Finally you’re going to bring your chicken to a cutting board and slice it into long thin pieces.
Grab several bowls, fill them with all the mixed ingredients including your sauce and pasta that you’ve combined and then add a few pieces of sliced chicken to the side of each dish or wherever! Lol
You can even add more spice and sweetness to it if you’d like by mixing honey and paprika together to create a drizzle over your chicken and pasta that brings it all together.
Let me know what you think!
Our Little Home on the Hill 