Jori P.

1.       Taste: it was absolutely delicious! Me and my husband both really enjoyed it and will          definitely make it into my own personal recipe book! You could really taste the cheese which was my most favorite part!

2.       Preparation: To make this meal it took me about an hour. The preparation was not bad at all, but I will say you have to get it your full attention. Sometimes when I cook I can multi task by maybe folding laundry or something while things are cooking. With this though you are constantly stirring, cutting and mixing things together so don’t walk away from it or something might burn or boil over.

3.       Nutritional value: The main food groups used in this meal are; Meat, dairy, vegetables, and breads which would be your noodles that would go under that category. I would probably say that your biggest source of fat and vitamins would come from the cheese and whatever type of milk you choose to use whole, heavy whipping cream, or half and half. There is 4% calcium in the half and half, I only used a cup of it so you’re looking at about 2% calcium from that. Also in the cheese there is about 45% calcium combined with both types of cheese but again I didn’t use the whole bag of either of the cheese. Other nutritional value would be the protein from the chicken, also there is protein in the dairy products used as well.

4.       Specific nutrients help: The protein from the chicken will help your hair and nails. Also protein helps build and repair tissue so having extra protein in our diets will help with exercise. The calcium from the dairy products helps our body’s teeth and bones stay strong. It will also help our blood clot if necessary and I read that calcium is basically essential for life.

5.       Negative aspects in the recipe: some negative aspects of the recipe would probably be the half and half and the noodles. The half and half is a little high in fat and doesn’t have much protein. The noodles are high in carbs and calories.

6.       Missing food groups: Well an obvious food group that is missing would be fruit, which you wouldn’t put in the dish but you could definitely eat a serving of fruit on the side with your dinner. There is spinach and tomatoes in it but I think your serving could be bigger so maybe adding more spinach and tomatoes and less noodles to make sure you are getting more vegetables. Other than that you get your grains, meat, and dairy from the dish.

I considered this a pretty healthy dish because it called for fresh spinach and tomatoes, I also chose it because of the chicken. I understand that milk or cream can be very fattening and also the noodles. I did think about substitutions that would be good to make the recipe even healthier. For the noodles you could substitute whole wheat noodles or even make your own zucchini noodles that would take out your carb intake and add to the vegetables. I know there are ways to substitute the milk and heavy cream with Almond milk that will cut down on the fats in the recipe.

The Recipe:

Ingredients:

10 ounces dry pasta (I used a combination of rotini, farfalle and penne. Any similar size would work.)

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 ounces chive and onion cream cheese

1 cup sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)

1 cup whole milk, heavy cream or half-and-half (I used half-and-half)

1/2 cup shredded or grated Parmesan cheese

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Pinch crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

1 - 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh spinach

2 cups cooked chicken (cubed or shredded)

1/2 cup fresh tomatoes, cut into large chunks

Fresh basil or parsley, for garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Coat a medium casserole dish with non-stick spray.  (Mine was a 10" round, but a 9 x 13 would work fine.)

Cook pasta in salted, boiling water to al dente.  Drain and set aside.

While pasta is cooking, heat butter in a medium saute pan set to medium heat.  Add in the onion and garlic.  Cook for 3 - 4 minutes to slightly soften veggies.  Do not brown.

Add in cream cheese and stir to melt.  Reduce heat to low.  Stir in sour cream, milk, Parmesan cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes (if using).  Stir until everything is well-combined and melted.  Turn off heat.

Combine the pasta, chicken, spinach and tomatoes in a large bowl.

Add in the sauce and gently stir to coat.

Pour into the prepared baking dish.

Top with the remaining mozzarella.

Bake uncovered for about 20 -25 minutes ... or until casserole is bubbly and beginning to brown.  Top with basil or parsley for garnish.

NOTE:  In order for the pasta bake to not dry out, I place the baking dish on a sheet pan and add 1 - 2 cups of very hot water to the sheet pan once in the oven.  This will create steam during the baking process and will help to keep everything moist.