Chicken & Spinach Pasta

I saw a variation of this dish on Pinterest and thought it looked really tasty and totally wanted to make it. The original recipe doesn’t use the crockpot and it has cream cheese which I am sure makes it extra yummy. I wanted to cook the chicken in the crock and not use cream cheese to reduce the fat. So I came up with my own variation of the dish. I love it when I get inspired. Or is it Pinspired? (Sorry)

I wasn’t planning on posting it or anything but wow was this so good it just has to be shared. I served it up with some steamed veggies and honey wheat rolls. The kids asked for me to make it again while they were in mid bite. I guess that means they liked it. I know I really enjoyed it and it is going into our regular dinner rotation.

 

 

 

 

Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake 

1 16 oz. pkg. Penne (I made a small dish with regular and one with gluten free rice penne.)
1 lb. chicken boneless and skinless (I used two chicken breasts and 2 chicken thighs.)
½ cup chopped canned tomatoes and juice (I used the Italian recipe one.)
1 tbsp. dried basil (More or less depending on how much you like.)
1 green onion (It’s what I had on hand if you want you can use another kind just don’t use the whole thing.)
2 cups mozzarella (I use reduced fat but you can use whatever your taste buds desire.)
¼ cup grated Parmesan (I used the green container you can use fresh if you want.)
1 10 oz. pkg. frozen spinach Chop the onion.

In a crockpot place the chicken, onion, tomatoes and basil. My chicken was still frozen so no need to thaw. Cook on high or low for as long as it takes between 4-6 hours. 

Thaw spinach and drain. I thawed mine in the microwave in a plastic colander that was in a bowl so it was draining as it thawed. 

Boil pasta and cook just until it is done. Or just to the point where it could use about 30 seconds more. You don’t want to overcook as it will become soggy. If you use rice pasta I suggest cooking it for a couple minutes less than what it says to. It really becomes soggy in the dish otherwise. 

Once the chicken is cooked, shred/chop it up into little pieces. I just did this in the crockpot. 

Mix the thawed spinach in with the chicken. Then add the parmesan. 

Pour the chicken mixture into a baking dish along with some of the juices and add the pasta. Stir it carefully to combine. 

Cook covered for about 10 minutes. Uncover and add mozzarella cheese to the top and cook for 10 minutes more. When it is done, let it sit for a few minutes before inhaling it.