Recipe: Parmesan Spinach Chicken with Cavatappi

Ingredients:
Chicken Cutlets – about 7, thawed, pounded out evenly
Parmesan – 1/3 cup
Bread Crumbs – 1 T.
Italian Seasoning – 1 tsp.
Spinach – 10 oz?, rough chopped
Red Pepper – ½ cup, diced
Margarine – 1 Tb, ½ tsp.
Scallions – ½ cup, diced
Garlic – 1 tsp., minced
Flour – 1T.
Milk – ½ cup, skim
Cavatappi – for 3 servings, can sub other pastas but I think this one goes well with the dish. Maybe penne if you prefer.

1. Preheat oven to 350F, Pam a baking dish – I used a 13x9 but it was too large. If you have a smaller one, use that.
2. Boil spinach just barely to soften it. Let it sit in a strainer until we need it again to let it drain out fully.
3. Combine parmesan, bread crumbs and Italian seasoning. Dip the chicken in it just to get a thin layer on both sides. Set mixture aside for topping later.
4. Pre-bake chicken for 12 minutes.
5. Boil water and cook the cavatappi.
6. In a small frying pan, melt margarine and add garlic and scallions. sauté until scallions are soft.
7. Add flour and combine into a paste. Add milk. Mix and bring to a simmer.
8. Turn off heat. Add spinach and red pepper. Mix and cover – let stand for a few minutes.
9. Spoon veggie mixture over chicken. Sprinkle remaining parmesan mixture over top.
10. Bake for 17 minutes, until chicken is fully cooked/no longer pink.
11. Once cavatappi is cooked, heat from olive oil, garlic and Italian seasoning. Add pasta just before serving and toss to coat and heat just briefly.
12. Serve chicken over pasta.

I made this one last night for Suz – just meant to be a quick dinner before we went to our friends’ house warming party, but we ended up sitting and finishing a bottle of Cab before ever leaving. We were a bit late, but in good form for a party. Francine had just given me a ton of spinach because she was leaving town (I always get her leftover produce – lucky me!) but I’m going out of town on Wednesday too so I wanted to use it up. I have chicken spinach and pasta – what shall we make?? This worked out handsomely – definitely want to make this one again. Sorry if my measurements aren’t precise ; I tend to make up my own rules as I go. That’s part of the joy I find in cooking.
Also, I ended making enough for 3 using these amounts – you’ll have to extend it for 4 and cut it down for 2 if you prefer. We’ll see how it tastes as a leftover…