month of discoveries, find #6: baked pasta with spinach, lemon, cheese (and chicken)

So I'm not much of a chef.  Really.  I don't mind cooking simple things, but I'm no Kelli Abbott (my dear friend who is a wonderful cook).  But I do like to eat, therefore I must cook.  I like recipes because I'm good at following directions, so when I came across this one in March's edition of Cooking Light, I had to try it.  And I loved it.  It's supposed to be a vegetarian dish, but I like my meat so I added in two chicken breasts.  Give it a try!

Baked Pasta with Spinach, Lemon, Cheese 

(& Chicken)

Yield: 6 servings

Total: 1 hour, 33 minutes

Ingredients

10 ounce casarecce pasta or fusilli (short twisted spaghetti)

1 (5 ounce) package fresh baby spinach

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 cups chopped onion

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 1/2 cups low-fat milk

1/2 cup dry white wine*

1 cup (4 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

cooking spray

3/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), divided

2 large chicken breasts

*I didn't have any white wine, so I just added in a little more milk to make up for the lack of a liquid.

Preparation

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Cut chicken breasts into small chunks, cook in a pan with a small amount of olive oil until cooked all the way through.

• 3. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 minutes or until almost al dente, omitting salt and fat. Remove from heat; stir in spinach. Let stand for 2 minutes or until spinach wilts. Drain pasta mixture well.
• 4. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion; cook 15 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Add flour and garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly with a whisk. Gradually add milk and wine; cook 8 minutes or until sauce boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Stir in 3/4 cup cheese, salt, and rind. Remove from heat; stir in pepper. Add pasta mixture to onion mixture, and toss gently to coat.
• 5. Spoon the pasta mixture into a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray.  Add in chicken, stir. Sprinkle half of panko breadcrumbs over pasta, and top evenly with remaining 1/4 cup cheese. Sprinkle the remaining half of panko breadcrumbs over cheese. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until browned and bubbly.

Mmmmm!