Here's the thing with spinach, it's like a sponge. It will absorb the flavors of what you are cooking, so if you use it in a recipe with a lot of herbs/seasonings, it won't taste like 'spinach'. The other thing I do is I pulverize it in my food processor until it's an unrecognizable green paste. I add it to meatballs, meatloaf, and this, now favorite family recipe. It's broken down so much, you don't even know you're eating it, which, in my book, is a good thing :)
Also, with the spinach so pulverized, there's no way to "pick it out!"
With this recipe, I also add sun dried tomatoes in the food processor with the spinach. I like tomato sauce and ketchup, hate tomatoes. It's a texture thing. But again, pulverized to a paste.... you get a hint of the sharp tang of the sundried tomato, but never a big bite of it, or the texture of the tomato. So, another bonus for me and my fussy kids.
This is also a recipe that you can tailor to meet the tastes of your family. It is so easy, super quick, can be made ahead of time, frozen, varied depending on what's in your pantry and easily zap some "add on" items for people who want certain things that aren't like by everyone.
For instance, you could cook peas, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, etc., separately, and let only those who want those items to mix them in after they've dished out their portion. That's how we have to do it here at Picky Eater Central.
One of the reasons this is so easy is you can make it with convenience items. I buy bags of frozen, pre-cooked chicken to use. I try to keep a bag on hand as it's great for a lot of things. You could also use a rotisserie chicken from your market deli - an especially good buy on their $5 days that most markets have. You couldn't buy that amount of chicken for $5 and it's already cooked. All you have to do is strip the chicken, which is pretty easy. The other convenience item is Land O' Lakes Sauté Express - which is AWESOME! Unfortunately, only 1 market near me carries it. I've asked my regular market again and again and they won't carry it. Annoys the heck out of me, but as long as I can get it, I'm happy. This is a fabulous product and I highly recommend you try it. If you can't find it, you can try making your own (see below *). Or you can try using Italian salad dressing.
Oh - and I always make a huge batch so we can freeze the leftovers for another meal on another day.
So - here we go!
Kerry's Chicken and Pasta
1 Box corkscrew pasta
1 cup shredded carrots (you can use diced or sliced if you prefer)
Land O' Lakes Sauté Express Italian Herb
2 bags frozen chicken strips or diced ( I usually buy Tyson Grilled Strips)
1 can chick peas (aka garbanzo beans)
Approx 1 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves
5 - 6 sun dried tomatoes in oil (adjust as you feel to taste and depending on size of tomatoes)
1. Boil the pasta according to directions on box.
2. I add the shredded carrots to the boiling pasta because I like the carrots thoroughly cooked. If you want them crispy, you can leave them out of the pan and add them in at the end.
3. In an electric skillet on 300 or large pan on med, place 3 cubes of the LOL Sauté Express.
4. Add the 2 bags of chicken. Cut up and extra large pieces.
5. In food processor add spinach and sun dried tomatoes. Puree until a smooth paste. Add to the chicken.
6. Drain the chick peas and add to the chicken.
7. When the pasta and carrots are cooked, drain and return to pan. Place remaining 3 cubes of Sauté Express in with the pasta and mix until melted and thoroughly combined. Add to the chicken mixture and combine.
8. Cover and continue to cook until chicken is hot all the way through.
You can freeze this for future meals. Just thaw and reheat in a skillet or frying pan.
There are so many things you can add/change to this. Sometimes I add pine nuts or a can of corn (the only vegetable all 4 of us can agree on! lol). But you could add water chestnuts, any kind of vegetable, use a different meat, or perhaps fish/shellfish. You could use a different flavor variety of Sauté Express (Garlic and Herb, Lemon Pepper, Teriyaki, Southwest). You could put it in a casserole and cover it with cheese.
You can also put all the ingredients into a ziplock bag and freeze to put in crockpot (just cook the pasta first and I'd suggest a couple of frozen cubes of chicken stock).
We made this and are having it tonight and the 2nd helping is going to a friend who is recovering from surgery. (Hope you and Bill and the kids like it Carol! :) )
So! Get creative! Think outside the box, use what you have on hand and think of ways to make it easy.
* Make your own herbed butter:
1 stick butter (1/2 cup), softened
4 Tbsp olive oil
Herbs and spices of your choosing (approx. 2 Tbsp)
Mix together and place into plastic wrap. Roll into a log and then wrap up and refrigerate. Cut off slices as needed.
