This was a "what's in my fridge that is going to go bad soon" meal. And...it turned out really good. I don't feed my kids rotten food, but I just wanted to use the peppers and spinach before they "matured", I guess is a better way of saying it. I had the chicken cooked and in the freezer from my prep day, so it was easy to throw together. My kids loved it and they had at least 4 veggies in this meal, and I also gave them carrots, so all 5 in one meal, that is awesome. This calculated out to about 340 calories per serving. I said it serves 8, but we had a ton left over, and everyone had a lot. So, I think it serves more than 8 and may be less calories than that.
Ingredients
2 peppers (I prefer yellow or red because they blend well with the tomatoes and have a sweeter taste.)
1/2 a large onion (I prefer sweet onions, but whatever kind you have works.)
1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus 1 teaspoon EVOO
1 Tablespoon chopped garlic (about 6 fresh cloves)
1/2 bag baby spinach
2 cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken (about 1 pound)
1 28 oz can tomatoes (whole, diced, stewed, I prefer Italian flavored)
1 14 oz can tomatoes (same as above)
1 16 oz. box of pasta (I used linguine, but I think next time I will use something like rigatoni or shells)
Shredded Parmesan Cheese, optional
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut peppers and onion in chunks. Drizzle 1 Tablespoon EVOO over them and spread them in a pan (I used my 8 by 8 pan.) Roast for 40 min, stirring once.
Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. Puree veggies and tomatoes in a food processor or blender (if you drain tomatoes the sauce will be thicker, if you want a thinner sauce, keep the juice.) Heat a large pan, add 1 teaspoon EVOO and allow it to heat up. Add garlic, saute for about 1 minute. Add veggie puree and allow mixture to heat up. Add chicken and spinach. I cooked it for about 15 more minutes. Cook pasta according to directions. Serve together, or separate (I mixed mine together, but if you have kids that are "separatists" I understand. I have one of those and told her "too bad" tonight.) Top with some parm cheese - ENJOY!!
