Three-Cheese Chicken Penne Florentine

"From Cooking Light March 2006"
 
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photo by Prakriti V. photo by Prakriti V.
photo by Prakriti V.
Ready In:
55mins
Ingredients:
15
Serves:
8
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ingredients

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directions

  • Preheat oven to 425°.
  • Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat.
  • Add mushrooms, onion, and bell pepper; sauté 4 minutes or until tender.
  • Add spinach, oregano, and black pepper; sauté 3 minutes or just until spinach wilts.
  • Place cottage cheese in a food processor and process until very smooth.
  • Combine spinach mixture, cottage cheese, pasta, chicken, 3/4 cup cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, milk, and soup in a large bowl.
  • Place mixture into a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray.
  • Top with remaining 1/4 cup cheddar cheese and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
  • Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly.

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Reviews

  1. I've made this a few times now, and I love it. I always skip the milk.
     
  2. I probably would give it 4 stars for my own taste by my picky 4 year old and my 2 and a half year old ate it so I HAVE to give it 5 stars. I forgot the milk like the other reviewer but it still came out great. I did make several changes due to what I had on hand and my picky family. I skipped the red bell pepper but still sauteed the mushrooms (which I had to puree) and onions (pureed aswell...picky, picky). I used dried oregano, substituted the penne for farfalle and used monterrey jack instead of cheddar and kraft parmesan crumbled cheese instead of the fresh. I also used about 300 g of frozen spinach like another reviewer. For the chicken, I used the frozen, precooked tenders I get from Costco to cut some of the prep time down. So, pretty much most of the ingredients were there, just in another form and it still turned out great. I still am in total awe that my 4 year old ate it...all of it except the chicken pieces, but that is amazing!
     
  3. Made this using my own white sauce instead of canned soup. It was good.
     
  4. My fiance loved this! For a "light" dish it was extremely creamy and indulgent tasting. We also have a ton of leftovers for lunches (always a plus). I forgot to add the milk, and I don't see any benefit to adding it when I make this in the future. The only downside to this dish for me was that it seemed to take quite a long time to prepare. Overall, great flavor for a healthier dinner option.
     
  5. Great Cooking Light comfort food! I love that some extra veggies are worked into the dish. Made as directed, but used a little less chicken than called for. I did use the canned soup the recipe called for, but next time would use my favorite sub Recipe #360192 and sacrifice the few extra fat grams. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
     
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Tweaks

  1. I probably would give it 4 stars for my own taste by my picky 4 year old and my 2 and a half year old ate it so I HAVE to give it 5 stars. I forgot the milk like the other reviewer but it still came out great. I did make several changes due to what I had on hand and my picky family. I skipped the red bell pepper but still sauteed the mushrooms (which I had to puree) and onions (pureed aswell...picky, picky). I used dried oregano, substituted the penne for farfalle and used monterrey jack instead of cheddar and kraft parmesan crumbled cheese instead of the fresh. I also used about 300 g of frozen spinach like another reviewer. For the chicken, I used the frozen, precooked tenders I get from Costco to cut some of the prep time down. So, pretty much most of the ingredients were there, just in another form and it still turned out great. I still am in total awe that my 4 year old ate it...all of it except the chicken pieces, but that is amazing!
     
  2. Great one dish meal! My teenagers loved it. I made a couple of changes because I didn't have all the ingredients on hand. I substituted mushroom soup for the chicked soup, I used canned mushrooms and part skim ricotta, otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. Thanks Kburie for posting. I'll be preparing this recipe again!
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

My husband and I married straight out of college in July of 1992. I work as the Assistant Manager at a wine shop which allows me to drink on the job! (OK, not that much, but it's still a fun job...) Besides helping customers choose wine they will like (and also help with food and wine pairings for their menus), I also get to help with the catering end of the business, so I get to spend a fair amount of time in the kitchen making fun appetizers and beautiful food displays. I also work part-time at the fromagerie next door. So yeah - that means I eat on the job, too. :^D We live on several peaceful wooded acres on a cute little river in rural NE Wisconsin, with a cranky old-lady Burmese and whatever stray outdoor cats that have decided to adopt us on any given day. The cute puppy in the picture is Jake, our Elhew-bred English Pointer that we brought home on Easter weekend 2007. I've also got 2 painted turtles named Dennis and Fuzz, and a bunch of fish (koi and goldfish, along with the guppies & swordtails in the turtle tank). I USUALLY eat and cook healthy, but I rarely pass up dessert, either. I do not eat red meat, and try to limit other animal products, too. I love to bake, although I seem to collect a lot of scone and biscotti recipes which I NEVER get around to making. I bake and eat A LOT of cookies and muffins... I almost always reduce the sugar by 1/4 and use whole wheat pastry flour for at least part of the flour. Those two changes do so much to make recipes healthier without compromising taste. I try to reduce fat whenever I can, too, but while I want to eat healthy, I still want to ENJOY what I eat!!! I seem to give a lot of 4 and 5 star reviews here - I seem to have a pretty good sense of what I like by looking at a recipe before I try it. Thank you to anyone that tries my recipes in return, or photographs them. Amber: <img src="http://netnet.net/~mkburie/amber2.jpg"> ........And a grown up Jake (one year old in January 2008) :) - <img src="http://netnet.net/~mkburie/JAKE111307.JPG"> Charlotte (May 27, 1992-June 1, 2009): <img src="http://netnet.net/~mkburie/Charlott.jpg"> Ashley: Adopted October 8, 1996 - Passed Away January 6, 2009 <img src="http://netnet.net/~mkburie/ashley2.jpg"> Mike: September 26, 1994 - March 19, 2004<img src="http://netnet.net/~mkburie/mike1997-lr.JPG">.... <a href='http://www.niftymaps.com/visitor-map.php?id=36321'><img src='http://i.niftymaps.com/36321.png' alt='Click to zoom in on my visitor map!' border='0'></a>Create your free world <a href='http://www.niftymaps.com/' target='_blank'>visitor maps</a>
 
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