Chicken Penne Florentine

Miles and I had a busy weekend with a birthday party, engagement, baby shower, and BABY JOEL being born.  Needless to say I have been neglecting my blog. When I got home from work it was time to break open the cookbook again (really just a printed out recipe from a site called myrecipes.com). Miles had two new client meetings today so it was a great opportunity for me to have dinner ready when he got home from those. 


ON THE MENU TONIGHT: Chicken Penne Florentine - Green Beans - Fruit Salad

Chicken Penne Florentine Recipe

• 1tsp olive oil
• 3 cups thinly sliced mushrooms (which I did not get to use because Miles hates mushrooms)
• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 3 cups chopped fresh spinach
• 1tbsp chopped fresh oregano 
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 (16oz) carton 2% low-fat cottage cheese
• 4 cups hot cooked penne (I used whole wheat penne)
• 2 cups chicken
• 1 cup shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar, divided
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese divided
• 1/2 cup milk (it calls for 2% but I used skim b/c that is all we buy)
• 1 can reduced fat cream of chicken soup

• Preheat oven to 425
• Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and bell pepper; sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add spinach, oregano, and black pepper; sauté 3 minutes or just until spinach wilts.
• Place cottage cheese in a food processor; process until very smooth. Combine spinach mixture, cottage cheese, pasta, chicken, 3/4 cup cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, milk, and soup in a large bowl. Spoon mixture into a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheddar cheese and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake at 425° for 25 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly.