This Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake takes ordinary ingredients like chicken, spinach, cream cheese, and pasta and turns them into a delicious dinner that is easy to make.

Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake

Yield: 6

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

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Ingredients

• 1 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed
• 8 ounces rigatoni pasta
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 3 cups cubed cooked chicken breast
• 1 14.5 ounce can Italian-style diced tomatoes
• 1 8-ounce container chive-and-onion cream cheese, softened
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place spinach in a strainer and set aside to drain well. Prepare pasta according to directions.
3. While pasta cooks, place oil in bottom of a 7x11 inch baking dish (with cover). Add onion in a single layer and bake, uncovered, about 15 minutes or just until tender. Transfer onions to a large bowl and set baking dish aside.
4. Press spinach between 2 paper towels to remove any remaining liquid. Stir pasta, spinach, chicken, tomatoes, cream cheese, salt and pepper into onion in bowl. Spoon into baking dish and top with cheese.
5. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes; uncover and bake 15 more minutes or until bubbly.

Notes

Recipe excerpted from Alabama Hometown Cookbook, copyright 2016, and reprinted with permission.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 476 Saturated Fat: 10g Cholesterol: 105mg Sodium: 698mg Carbohydrates: 36g Fiber: 2g Sugar: 5g Protein: 36g

Serve this yummy entree with a side salad and some crusty French bread and you have an elegant meal that would be just as great for serving to company as it is for serving to your family.  This is a delicious meal from the Alabama Hometown Cookbook that you will want to add to your weekly meal plan.

Alabama Hometown Cookbook

The Alabama Hometown Cookbook is part of the State Hometown Cookbook Series by Great American Publishers.  The book is a collection of recipes from people across the State of Alabama, including personal recipes from the authors’ own families.

The recipes are an insight to the culinary heritage of people who lovingly call Alabama home.  The recipes cover everything from appetizers to dessert.  Included in the book is information about festivals around Alabama organized by months. 

Some of the recipes that got my attention are:

• USS Alabama Shrimp Deviled Eggs
• Irondale Cafe Cornbread
• Full Moon Bar-B-Que’s Marinated Slaw
• Peach Barbecue Sauce
• Chelsea McLean’s Island Curry Chicken
• Cajun Barbecued Shrimp
• Old Southern Pound Cake
• Alabama Bourbon Pecan Balls

Look for Alabama Hometown Cookbook at your local retailer or at Amazon.com.

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