Three Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta Bake

Inspired by a recipe found here.

April showers... make me want to curl up in sweats and make pasta bakes. True story. As we already know, I love pasta. I would eat it all day, everyday, with just intermittent sprinkles of coffee and sweets to balance my diet. In a perfect world, that would be not only acceptable, but would (paired with exercise, of course) make for an Olympic gold medalist. But alas, here we are in a world where a steady diet of coffee, pasta, and sweets make for a bigger waistline and nutrient-deprived body. SIGH... But. There are ways to ease the sting.

Brown rice pasta, spinach, and low-fat cheeses are healthful additions to this bake, yet do not compromise the coveted comfort level of baked pasta. With the addition of chicken breast, this once carb-heavy dish becomes a well-balanced meal. And it's delicious. Bryan loves it, I love it (was that a surprise?), and, most importantly, it passed the Natalie Test-- my two-year-old daughter eats it without hesitation. It's simple to make and reheats wonderfully. The recipe also lends itself to a lot of variation. I think next time I'll add onion and zucchini to the bake to up the veggie content as well as add another layer of flavor. Customize it to meet the preferences of your family and sneak some veggies into those kids!

Three Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta Bake

by Simply Shlee

Keywords: bake entree chicken pasta cheese spinach Italian

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 1 1/2 cups brown rice penne pasta
• 9 oz. fresh spinach leaves
• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 14 oz. spaghetti sauce
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 14-1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 oz. low-fat cream cheese, cubed
• 1 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese, divided
• 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375F.

Cook pasta as directed on package, omitting salt and adding spinach to the boiling water the last minute.

Drizzle skillet with olive oil and cook chicken and basil on medium-high heat for about 3 mins.

Stir in spaghetti sauce, garlic, and tomatoes; bring to boil. Simmer on low heat 3 mins. or until chicken is done. Stir in cream cheese.

Drain pasta mixture; return to pan. Stir in chicken mixture and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Spoon into 2-qt. casserole dish.

Bake 20 mins. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses. Bake 5 mins. or until mozzarella is melted.

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Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls

Inspired by a recipe found here.

Happy Earth Day Birthday (well, yesterday...), Bryan! Though the dreary weather put a damper on our plans to spend the day outside taking walks and playing at the park with Natalie, his requested birthday dinner and dessert were still a go! I made this recipe for the first time in the summer and was blown away by its simplicity and its flavor. 

I am obsessed with Southwestern and Mexican cuisine. I would eat anything as long as it’s paired with cumin or chipotle. Literally anything. I found a recipe for baked southwestern egg rolls and jumped at the chance to make such an unusual treat. Let me tell you—they are absolutely amazing.  Gooey, cheesy, spicy, crunchy, sweet, hot… they are everything you could possibly want from a dish. Bryan chose these for his birthday dinner (yay!) and I was pretty much ecstatic to make these babies again. The egg rolls are great for parties, snacks, or as a meal. I like eating the leftovers cold, just like I would eat Chinese take-out, which reminds me... I've got some day old lo mein calling my name. Bryan's weightlifting cheat day is mine too. Everyone should indulge every now and then. ;)

Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls

by Simply Shlee

Keywords: bake entree appetizer snack vegetarian egg roll Southwest

Ingredients (Serves 8-10)

• 2 cups frozen corn, thawed
• 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 2 cups shredded , low-fat Mexican cheese blend
• 1 (4 oz.) can diced green chiles, drained
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• ½ tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. pepper
• 1 package egg roll wrappers (about 24 total)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425F.

In a large bowl, combine everything but the egg roll wrappers and mix well.

Lay an egg roll wrapper out on a work surface so that one of the corners is pointing toward you and place a scant ¼ cup of the filling in the center. Fold the tip closest to you up over the filling, roll a bit, then take the points pointing outward and fold them in toward the center. Continue rolling into an egg roll shape until a small part of the remaining point is still free. Dip a finger in water and lightly brush on the edges of the free corner. Finish rolling and press to seal closed. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the sealed egg rolls on the baking sheet seam side down and lightly spray the tops of the egg rolls with cooking spray.

Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly brown, turning halfway through baking.

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