The most delicious fall/wintertime recipe, hands down. I don’t have the patience to roast squash and this is a great way to get picky kids to eat healthy vegetables.
Ingredients: [‘butternut squash’, ‘bacon’, ‘boneless skinless chicken breast’, ‘baby spinach’, ‘onion’, ‘garlic cloves’, ‘penne pasta’, ‘salt’, ‘ground black pepper’, ‘dried sage’, ‘dried red pepper flakes’, ‘olive oil’, ‘flour’, ‘milk’, ‘italian cheese blend’]
Quantity of Ingredients: [“3 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash”,”4 -5 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled “,”1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces “,”3 cups Baby Spinach, rough chopped “,”1 medium onion, sliced “,”2 garlic cloves, minced “,”1 lb penne pasta”,”1/2 teaspoon salt”,”1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper”,”1/4 teaspoon dried sage”,”1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes”,”1 tablespoon olive oil”,”1/4 cup flour”,”2 cups milk”,”1/3 cup Italian cheese blend (parmesan, reggiano, asiago, provolone, etc)”]
Number of Servings: 6
Steps: [‘Heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray 13×9 pan liberally with non-stick spray. Start a pot of 5 qt water with liberal salt for the penne.’, ‘Cook bacon until crisp over medium heat in a large non-stick skillet. Drain bacon over paper towels and reserve 3 TBSP fat in pan.’, ‘Salt and pepper chicken pieces. Cook chicken breast pieces in the bacon fat for about 4 minutes, until no longer pink in the center. Reserve chicken and tent with foil.’, ‘Add enough olive oil to coat pan; add squash, salt, pepper and sage. Cover pan and stir occasionally for 5-7 minutes, until squash is semi-soft. Add onion and continue to cook for 3-5 minutes, until onion is translucent. Add garlic, red pepper, and spinach to skillet and cook until spinach is wilted, 3-4 minutes.’, ‘Do not cook your penne until al dente; it will continue to cook in the oven. Only cook for about 7 minutes.’, ‘In a seperate saucepan cook flour over medium heat, gradually adding milk and whisking continuously until boiling. Boil for two minutes or until thickened; remove from heat and add cheese, stirring until melted.’, ‘Add flour/milk/cheese mixture to pasta; add pasta to squash mixture. Stir in the cooked chicken and crumbled bacon. Add more milk if mixture is too thick. Spread mixture into 13×9 pan; sprinkle more cheese on top if desired. Cook in oven 15-20 minutes or until cheese is browned and bubbling. Let cool for 10-15 minutes; serve.’]