Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Spinach Artichoke Chicken Pasta with Spaghetti Squash


The one thing I LOVE about meal planning each week is discovering new recipes to try. When I am in a funk and living by the seat of my pants with eating, I tend to eat the same junk over and over again....pizza, tacos, sandwich, pizza, taco, sandwich... the cycle goes on and on until one day I snap back into my senses and start meal planning again. It can be a struggle to get going with it but I PROMISE it's worth the time and effort. Plus, when you make recipes like the one I'm about to share, you are covered for at LEAST 2-3 meals... depends on how many people you have to share it with! ;) The goal is to make things easier during the week when you are busy running from work, to errands, to carting the kids around, back to work...you get the drift. So, having meals like this on hand that you can just portion out into containers and grab and go during the week, makes life MUCH easier! AND you are not spending as much money eating out... AND you are staying on track much better with your nutrition. Sounds like a lot of winning. :)

So, low and behold this AMAZING recipe! Even if you aren't the biggest fan of spaghetti squash you should still try this...all the flavors mix well and I actually could barely tell I was eating spaghetti squash! You could also sub whole wheat noodles, zoodles or even quinoa or rice instead of the squash. Either way, give this a try and let me know what you think!

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SPINACH ARTICHOKE CHICKEN PASTA WITH SPAGHETTI SQUASH
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
Spaghetti Squash:
  • 1 large spaghetti squash, cut in half, seeds removed
  • 2 T. olive oil
  • - ½ t. salt
  • - ¼ t. pepper

Chicken:
  • 2 T. olive oil
  • - 1 lb. chicken, cubed
  • - ¾ t. salt
  • - ¼ t. pepper

Sauce:
  • - 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • - 2 T. butter, or olive oil
  • - 2 T. cornstarch
  • - ½ c. milk (or almond milk)
  • - ½ c. chicken broth
  • - 3 T. cream cheese
  • - 1/3 c. Greek yogurt
  • - 1-15-oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
  • - 2 c. fresh spinach, packed
  • - 1/2 - 1 c. Mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • - Parsley, fresh (optional)
  • - Parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions:

For the Spaghetti Squash:

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Cut one large spaghetti squash in half, lengthwise. Discard seeds.
  3. Drizzle 1 T. olive oil in each half of the squash and sprinkle with equal amounts salt and pepper.
  4. Place, face-down, on a parchment paper or aluminum foil-lined baking sheet.
  5. Roast squash in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, or until squash is tender and shreds easily with a fork.
  6. For the Chicken:
  7. Drizzle 2 T. olive oil in a large skillet. Place cubed chicken, salt and pepper into skillet and cook over medium heat for 6-8 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
  8. Remove chicken and set aside.
  9. For the Sauce:
  10. Once chicken is removed, in the same skillet place butter and garlic. Saute for 1-2 minutes or until garlic is golden brown.
  11. Add cornstarch to the butter and garlic and reduce heat to low. Whisk until a thick paste forms. 
  12. Slowly add milk and chicken broth over the course of 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly. 
  13. Add cream cheese and Greek yogurt. Stir to combine.
  14. Add artichoke hearts and spinach. Stir to combine and let simmer for 3-5 minutes.
  15. Add chicken and let heat through for an additional 5 minutes.

For the Assembly:

  1. Once spaghetti squash halves are done baking, remove from oven and shred insides with a fork to form spaghetti “noodles.”
  2. Fill each half with equal parts of the spinach artichoke and chicken mixture, making sure to pull up the noodles so the sauce spreads out evenly.
  3. Top both halves with equal amounts of Mozzarella cheese. 
  4. Set oven to High Broil.
  5. Broil spaghetti squash halves for 3-5 minutes, or until cheese just starts to bubble and turns a light golden brown.
  6. Top stuffed spaghetti squash halves with parsley and Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of: glutenfreewithlb.com 

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And today I got to enjoy it for lunch! YUM! :)

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2 comments:

  1. How did you count containers for this?

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    Replies
    1. I didn't measure exactly, but I would say a serving would be 2 greens, 1 red, 1 yellow and 1 blue and a TBSP of olive oil... give or take deepening on how big your portion is.

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