Creamy Chicken and Spinach Pasta
Serves 4
2 cups warm, shredded cooked chicken (or about 8 ounces)
6 ounces dry pasta, some sort of short variety (penne, rotini, etc)
1 cup frozen peas
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup Vidalia onion, diced
2 garlic cloves
1 cup (10 ounces by weight) plain Greek yogurt
6 ounces baby spinach
- Prepare pasta according to directions. When the pasta is done, save 1 cup of the pasta water.
- Heat the shredded chicken in the microwave (or any other preferred method.) Keep hot.
- While you are boiling the pasta, in a small non-stick skillet, add olive oil. When hot, add onions. Saute until they are beginning to become translucent (4-6 minutes over medium-high heat.) Add garlic and stir for an additional minute.
- Add yogurt to the onions and garlic. Stir to combine. If it seems too thick for your preference, add small amounts of the hot pasta water.
- To quickly and easily thaw the peas, place them in a large colander, and pour the cooked pasta over them. Quickly drain the pasta, and add back to the pasta pot. The pasta does not need to be fully drained.
- Add half of the spinach. Top with onion/yogurt mixture and chicken. Stir to combine.
- Add remaining spinach. Toss to combine. The spinach will partially wilt under the surrounding heat of the dish.
Note: You could easily use leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. Simply shred it and reheat in the microwave, or in a saute pan with some broth and a bit (1/4 cup) of gravy.
Nutritional data (each portion is approximately 1 1/4 cups):
Calories: 279
Fat: 7.7g
Sat fat: 2g
Chol: 36mg
Sodium: 130mg
Carbs: 32.5g
Fiber: 3g
Protein: 20g
Note: This was the first time I made this dish. Next time, I will add something with another color, maybe some diced fire-roasted red bell peppers.
Yum, that looks so good!