One-Pan Chicken Florentine Spaghetti Bake

This is about simplifying your day!

There’s very little prep work here ~ it’s a no fuss dish:  dry pasta, uncooked chicken, your favorite sauce, all blanketed with mozzarella cheese. 

To begin, break raw uncooked spaghetti in half, or thirds, over a layer of your favorite sauce; homemade or jarred, in a casserole baking dish. 

Cut the chicken into bite-size chunks and spread over the top, along with mushrooms and spinach.  Do this in two layers, finishing with mozzarella sprinkled over the top, then bake for an hour or so. 

That’s it!  One-pan, no fuss, little clean-up and a delicious comforting dinner for you and your family on a chilly day like it is here today!

It doesn’t get much easier!


One-Pan Chicken Florentine Spaghetti Bake
Printable recipe 

Ingredients:

8 ounces (1 box) dried spaghetti, broken in half or smaller
1 (10-ounce) package frozen spinach (thawed and squeezed of excess liquid)
8 ounce can sliced mushrooms, drained
14 ounces chicken breast, cut into bite-size chunks
42 ounces (one 26 ounce jar plus one 16 ounce jar) spaghetti sauce, or homemade
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°.
Pour 1 cup of sauce in bottom of 13” x 9” baking dish.
Layer half of spaghetti over the sauce.
Layer half the mushrooms, half the chicken and half the spinach.
Arrange more dried spaghetti over all.
Continue with layers of remaining chicken, mushrooms and spinach.
Place remainder of spaghetti on top.
Spread remaining sauce over the top, covering the entire casserole.
Be sure all of the noodles are covered with sauce.
Scatter mozzarella over top.
Cover and bake for 40 minutes.
Uncover, and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.




ENJOY!

Sausage, Bean and Spinach Dip

I made this dip recently for a gathering and was amazed at how quickly it was devoured and how everyone raved about it!

The melangé of spicy pork sausage, cream cheese, pinto beans, white wine and Parmesan turns into a warm, hearty dip for a tailgate spread on game day.

Leave it to Southern Living to print another great recipe, it’s almost hearty enough for a main dish.  Use regular sausage instead of hot, if you don't care for the heat.

This is perfect grub for the next time you cheer your team on!  

GO CUBBIES, GO BEARS!!!


Sausage, Bean and Spinach Dip
Printable recipe

Ingredients:
1 sweet onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 (1-pound) package hot ground pork sausage
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
½ cup dry white wine
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped
¼ teaspoon salt
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
½ cup (2-ounces) shredded Parmesan cheese

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cook onion, peppers and sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, for 8 to 10 minutes or until meat crumbles and is no longer pink; drain.
Stir in garlic and thyme, cook 1 minute.
Stir in wine, cook 2 minutes or until liquid has almost evaporated.
Add cream cheese, and cook, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes, until cheese is melted.
Stir in spinach and salt and cook, stirring constantly, until spinach is wilted.
Gently stir in beans.
Pour mixture into baking dish, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake at 375 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve with:  Corn chip scoops, red bell pepper strips, pretzel rods, or your favorite





ENJOY!

 

Pasta w/Ground Turkey, Spinach and Tomatoes

 

I added turkey ~ if you go meatless with this dish, you’ll have a one-pot pasta dish ~ perfect for the cool weather we’re having now! Either way, it’s delicious!

 

This is an adapted Cooking Light recipe.  I used 2 cans of Contadina Diced Tomatoes with Burgundy Wine and Olive Oil.  Then, added a variety of mini-tomatoes for their extra sweetness and sub-acid tartness.  For extra seasoning, there’s fennel seed, brown sugar, cracked black pepper, plus a teaspoon of brown sugar.

The dish is a game-changer:  Use just enough chicken broth to cook the pasta, adjust seasonings to your liking; ending up with a savory pasta meal.  The next time, I will add mushrooms to the mixture.

And, besides, it’s colorful… 

 

Add garlic bread ~ Voila!  Dinner is ready!

Pasta w/Ground Turkey Spinach and Tomatoes

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey breast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 cup cherry/grape tomatoes, sliced
2-3 cups unsalted chicken stock
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon fennel seed
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon seasoned pepper
1 teaspoon brown sugar
10 ounces spaghetti or linguine
1/3 cup black olives, sliced
10 ounces fresh spinach
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Method:

Brown turkey in a non-stick skillet until no longer pink.
Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Add onion and garlic, sauté for 3 minutes, until onion starts to brown.
Add tomatoes, stock, oregano, fennel seed; bring to a boil.
Add pasta and submerge in liquid.
Cover, reduce heat to medium low and cook 7 minutes or until pasta is almost done.
Uncover, stir in salt, pepper, sugar and olives and cooked turkey.
Add spinach in batches, stirring until spinach wilts, let stand 5 minutes.
Sprinkle with cheese.
Serves 4-6

ENJOY!

Creamed Spinach

You may know from my blog, that growing up, Dad had plenty of gardens.  After he retired, he established the first community garden in Louisville, and later created the display garden at the Louisville Zoo, maintaining it for several years.  

 

Along with the produce from those gardens, he had a large garden at home, which yielded even more produce.  There was never a lack of fresh vegetables growing up, nor later when Bill and I had our own home.  Oh, I had a garden at our house too!

Popeye's source of super-human strength!

The produce was all fresh and delicious, except for the broccoli.  It’s great frozen, but tastes totally different to me when fresh. Spinach is another matter ~ I adore it, no matter if it’s fresh, frozen or canned.  I even liked it when I was a kid.  I was the one at school who ate the other kids’ spinach to avoid reprimands from the lunchroom monitors.  I was happy to do them the favor, and eat their spinach.

Nowadays, we usually enjoy spinach with just a little salt and pepper, but when I want to doctor it up, this is the recipe.  It’s quick and tasty!

Creamed Spinach

Ingredients:

        

2 tablespoons butter

¼ cup onion, minced

2 tablespoons flour

½ teaspoon each, salt and seasoned pepper

2 (10-ounce) bags fresh spinach

¾ cup half and half

¼ cup Gruyère cheese, grated

Method:

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter.

Add onion and sauté until soft.

Whisk in flour and seasonings.

Stir in half and half and cheese and heat well, stirring until sauce has thickened slightly.

Place spinach in sauce in batches and cook until wilted, covering after each addition.

Adjust seasonings if needed.

Serve immediately.

ENJOY!!!

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog, @My Kind of Cooking for great tips and delicious easy recipes! 

Garlicky Pattypan Squash with Spinach

Pattypan squash ~ I don’t believe I’ve ever seen it in the produce section of the grocery store or at the farmers' markets here. 

Photo credit:  liseed.org

Anyway, they caught my eye at a specialty market recently as they are colorful and resemble tiny flying saucers with ruffled scalloped edges.  I bought a pound of them and when “Googling,” learned they are a summer squash.  The name “pattypan” derives from “a pan for making a patty.”  The ones I bought were yellow, but they can also be white or green.  Its French name, pâtisson, derives from a Provençal word for a cake made in a scalloped mould. 

Pattypan squash has creamy flesh on the inside that is somewhat sweeter than other summer squash.  This recipe is adapted from one by Bon Appétit.  The squash has a mellow taste, being sautéed with spinach that is perked up with plenty of garlic.  Do not sauté for long as the squash can turn to mush quickly.   I will be looking for the cute pattypan squash at the farmers' markets here soon!

Garlicky Pattypan Squash with Spinach

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium Vidalia onion

1 pound small pattypan squash

4-5 cloves garlic, crushed

2 cups fresh spinach leaves or frozen and drained well

Salt and seasoned pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling

Method:

Heat skillet to medium-high and add oil.

Add onions and sauté until almost tender.

Reduce heat to medium.

Stir in squash and garlic and sauté until squash is tender and can be pierced with a fork.

Combine spinach with the squash mixture and cook until spinach is wilted.

Season with salt and pepper.

Squeeze lemon juice over all.

Sprinkle Parmesan on top and serve.

ENJOY!!!

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda, at My Kind of Cooking! She gives great tips on Tuesdays and great easy recipes on Fridays.

Zucchini and Sautéing 101

Do you know sautéing means “jumping” in French?   It’s kind of like frying, only different.  It requires a heavy bottomed skillet, food that is cut the same small size and oil that likes really high heat.  Frying means quite a lot of oil, larger food items such as chicken parts and lower heat allowing the food to cook longer for doneness. 

The question I have with sautéing is:  do I heat the pan first and then add the oil or do I add the oil to a cold skillet and heat them both at the same time?  Usually I add the oil to a hot skillet but I’m not sure if this is the correct procedure to ensure that very little fat is absorbed by the food.  What do you think ~ how do you do it?

No matter which method, I really like sautéed veggies and since summer is about over for this year, I had to squeeze in one more dish that’s filled with fresh zucchini, bell peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes and spinach.

By the way, zucchini, a member of the plant species, cucurbita pepo, was introduced into American culture by Italy. The Italians developed what we now call zucchini through a freak of nature – a chance mutation of one of its squash brethren. 

The Italian immigrants brought the seeds with them to California in the 1920’s when later; a small southern California seed company began distributing the seeds. 

It took a while to catch on ~ all that zucchini you see at your farmer’s markets and the ones your neighbor unloads on you were barely recognized here in the United States just 50 years ago.  Now look how prolific it is, being served as a vegetable dish, bread, dessert or as a smoothie to sip on!

This is about as easy as it gets for the veggies I bought at our farmer’s market Saturday morning and quick too.  It combines them all with some onion, garlic, chicken broth and crushed red pepper for a little heat.  With all the vibrant colors, it looks as appealing as it tastes!  I hope you like it!

Sautéed Zucchini Mix

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large white onion, chopped

3 garlic heads, minced

3 zucchini, chopped into bite-size chunks

1 bell pepper, diced

8 ounces mushrooms, diced

3 tomatoes, diced

9 ounce bag spinach

½ cup chicken broth, low sodium

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper

Salt and pepper, to taste

Parmesan cheese, shaved

Method:

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add onions and garlic and sauté until the onions are cooked.

Add zucchini, peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes.

Cook until the vegetables soften, about 4 minutes.

Add spinach and cook until it wilts.

Pour broth over all.

Add red pepper and salt and pepper.

Cook until all is heated through. 

Transfer to a serving dish.

Serve along with shaved Parmesan.

It’s a delicious colorful side dish!

Savory Baked Tomatoes with Ricotta

What do you need:  a delicious appetizer, a side dish, a main course?  These baked tomatoes can easily fill the bill for any of the three!

This warm dish unites tomatoes with the savory taste of spinach, garlic, ricotta and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheeses.  

The tomatoes aren’t stuffed so that means you don’t need extra preparation time to scoop out the pulp and seeds.  The cheese topping sits proudly on top of the tomato halves for a quick tasty dish that looks pretty too after being baked.

This is the perfect dish for your bumper crop of tomatoes.  

It’s a simple recipe for any meal of your choice ~ how about breakfast?  YUM!

On the left no Parmigiano-Reggiano yet/and with it  on the right~ ready for the oven

Baked Tomatoes with Ricotta

Ingredients:

2 tomatoes

6 tablespoons ricotta cheese

½ cup chopped fresh spinach

2 garlic cloves, minced

¼ teaspoon dried thyme

¼ teaspoon seasoned pepper

2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut tomatoes in half crosswise.

Combine ricotta cheese, spinach, garlic, thyme and pepper.

Top each tomato half with about 2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture.

Sprinkle Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese over top.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until cheese turns golden.

These cheesy tomatoes are GREAT!!!

ENJOY!!! 

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog @My Kind of Cooking for great tips, recipes.  

Baked Chicken over Spaghetti

Through the years, I’ve seen lots of recipes for Baked Chicken over Spaghetti with most of them having “cream of” soup added to the mix.  No “cream of” soup here to disguise the flavors!

I used boneless chicken breasts this time, but you use the chicken you like ~ your own baked, broiled or boiled chicken, a whole rotisserie chicken from the grocery store or grilled chicken, shredded chicken and even chicken tenders.

With the additions of tender baby spinach, sliced mushrooms, spicy Italian seasoning and your favorite pasta sauce, this can be thrown together quickly, baked and served over spaghetti for an appetizing meal for your family.  Be creative and throw into the mix

Baked Chicken over Spaghetti, a crisp green salad and a loaf of crusty bread ~ that’s simply another comforting meal!

Oven ready!

Baked Chicken over Spaghetti

Ingredients:

4 boneless chicken breast halves or 1 pound cooked chicken of your choice

1 jar (24-ounces) pasta sauce (I use Classico Fire-Roasted Tomato and Garlic)

1 package (6-ounces) baby spinach

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 pound spaghetti, cooked

Method:

Coat with cooking spray a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Place chicken breasts in the baking dish.

In a large bowl, combine pasta sauce and spinach.

Add next 4 ingredients, combining well.

Pour sauce over chicken.

Cover dish with foil.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.

Scatter cheese over chicken and cover with foil.

Bake until cheese melts, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile cook spaghetti according to package directions.

Serve chicken with sauce over cooked  spaghetti.

Ummmm, good!!!

Visit my friend Linda’s blog @My Kind of Cooking for great tips, recipes and cookbook giveaway! 

Mushrooms Florentine

How long has it been since you’ve swooned over a side-dish?  This one really makes me drool!  It’s one of my favorite side-dishes and I can hardly believe I haven’t posted it before now!

What do you think about mushrooms?  How do you like spinach?  And cheese ~ ‘nuff said!  If you like them all, I know you’ll be digging your fork in as soon this comes out of the oven.  I know, because I do ~ just a taste test!

Mushrooms Florentine is a simple recipe that builds up your arm muscles because the important part is wringing out the spinach thoroughly.  I place the thawed spinach in a couple of layers of paper towels and gently squeeze the water out.  Then into fresh paper towels and wring it, repeating the process another time or two.  Into the refrigerator the spinach goes, in a bowl lined with paper towels for an hour or two. 

Even though spinach has a starring role, the essential ingredient of this recipe is the mushrooms.  Sautéing them with the garlic in a little olive oil renders them great taste ~ and a wonderful aroma permeates the kitchen.  It’s a quick dish to assemble by layering spinach, mushrooms and cheese.  Then, after some oven time, you’re guaranteed a savory delectable side-dish!

All I can say is:  “This is delicious!!!”

Mushrooms Florentine

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound sliced mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 pound package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained

1 large onion, chopped

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon seasoned pepper

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Method:

Sauté mushrooms in oil in a skillet on medium-high for 2-3 minutes, until they start to turn golden.

Add garlic and sauté for another minute or two.

In the meantime, squeeze thawed spinach thoroughly in paper towels until well-drained.

In an 8 x 8-inch baking dish, combine spinach, onions and salt and pepper.

Sprinkle half the cheese over the spinach.

Cover with mushrooms.

Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden.

Serves 6

This will be your favorite way for mushrooms and spinach!

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog @My Kind of Cooking for great tips, recipes.  She’s having a Double Giveaway now!