Rejoicing in Recipes: Garden Chicken & Spinach Mac & Cheese

I really wasn't sure what to call this recipe. I found a recipe for Spinach Mac & Cheese in the latest issue of Redbook, but I changed it up so much that I figured I should rename it. :) I made it for dinner tonight. Pretty easy, fairly quick. I'd make it again for sure. Addy had 2 helpings of it, so I guess the girls liked it!

Garden Chicken & Spinach Mac & Cheese

8 oz tri-color noodles (i used Wacky Mac noodles)
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast chopped into small pieces
Olive oil
1 TBSP unsalted butter
1 slice bread (any kind; I used regular old sandwich bread), processed into crumbs
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
4 oz Cheddar Cheese
4 oz Mozzarella Cheese
2 cups milk
2 TBSP flour
Dried Garlic (few shakes of the bottle)
1/4 tsp salt
Black pepper (a dash or so)
6 oz baby spinach

Cook noodles til about 2 minutes less than recommended time (or very al dente). Add spinach to the noodles and water; cook until wilted. Drain and set aside.

Cook chicken in the oil til no longer pink. Remove chicken from pan. Melt butter and place bread crumbs in and cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes or until toasted. Remove bread crumbs and add 2 TBSP of the Parmesan cheese; mix together.

Place milk, garlic and flour in pan and cook over medium-high heat until boiling. Lower temp slightly and cook, stirring frequently, until bubbly and thickened. Remove pan from heat and add in Mozzarella, Cheddar and remainder of Parmesan cheese. Add salt and pepper.

Place noodles/spinach mixture in 9x9 baking dish. Add chicken and mix slightly. Pour cheese mixture over all and stir to coat. Sprinkle bread crumb mixture over top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until bubbly.

You could use other cheeses besides cheddar and mozzarella. The original recipe called for fontina as one of them. I don't usually buy it (too expensive). I used what I had on hand. Very tasty.

The original recipe also suggested a side to accompany it: sliced tomatoes, red onion, and olives drizzled with olive oil. I didn't have time to make it, nor did I think anyone but me would actually eat that. :) I'm the only red onion eater here.

Happy eating!