This is one of my favorites. It might seem a little complicated, but if you do some prep work ahead of time, it's not bad. I usually just buy a rotisserie chicken instead of cooking my own. I also usually add extra spinach, and sometimes I skip the red bell pepper. You can assemble it and freeze it too.
Three Cheese Chicken Penne Florentine (from Cooking Light magazine)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Cooking spray
- 3 cups thinly sliced mushrooms
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 3 cups chopped fresh spinach
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 (16-ounce) carton 2% low-fat cottage cheese
- 4 cups hot cooked penne (about 8 ounces uncooked tube-shaped pasta)
- 2 cups shredded roasted skinless, boneless chicken breast
- 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese, divided
- 1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
- 1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
- 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed reduced-fat, reduced-sodium cream of chicken soup, undiluted
Preheat oven to 425°.
Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, onion, 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.
[from Jaime]
