Another recipe I found when trying to consolidate magazines. Yes, I do use recipes sometimes that are not from Paula Deen, but I don’t think I have ever made any of her recipes that just didn’t “hit it out of the ballpark.” So once again, thank Paula for just a good comfort food recipe.
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup half & half
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
1/2 pound zeta pasta, cooked according to directions on package
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1 rotisserie chicken, meat shredded, skin and bones discarded
1 (14 oz) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teas salt
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 400. Spray a deep 13×9 (well, it just so happens that I have a deep 9×13 baking pan from Paula Deen bakeware that I use constantly) with cooking spray.
In a large saucepan, bring milk and half & half to a boil over medium heat; cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Stir in mozzarella until melted and sauce has thickened slightly. Stir in cooked pasta and spinach.
In a large bowl, stir together pasta mixture, chicken , artichokes, tomatoes, garlic and salt until well blended. (I will also add about 1/2 teas fresh ground pepper). Pour into prepared pan and cover with foil.
Bake until hot and hubby, about 20 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake until cheese is melted, about 10 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving with garlic bread and fresh salad.
Today I was going to post the Spanish Rice I made for dinner night before last, but first I wanted to post this really easy and yummy pasta salad. Isn’t it hard to think of new lunch items to make after 4 months of trying to stay home and thus, the 21 meals a week are getting a little more creative of, “what foods left over in the fridge can we put together that will keep us from having to go out into the virus laden world?” Well, ladies and gentlemen, is a really good lunch treat that took me all of 10 minutes to put together (why am I in a hurry when I have no where to go right now) and tastes so good.
This evening I was wanting to make something that I had never made before. We ended up with this really great Italian dinner. Even Peter Pumpkin sat there saying, “this is really good and I even like the asparagus”. Will wonders never cease. He is not a huge fan of mushrooms or asparagus and so for him to ask for seconds made me so proud. It was so easy and actually a great dish for serving company during the holidays. Plus…it was pretty. A dear friend of mine, Reny gave me this dish years ago and it is still one of my favorites to serve Italian food.
Chocolate Castles as wel 