Wednesdays Unplugged – Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta

“Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” – Berthold Auerbach

NOTE: I spend my Wednesdays Unplugged from appointments. It’s my day to stay home, enjoy cooking and welcome our kids and grandkids for dinner in the evening. We end our meal with quotes from the Norwegian ‘Quote Cup’ passed on to me from my grandmother. I share a quote and a recipe here each week, along with an update and photos of what has been going on in our lives. I love trying new recipes…and love getting recipes you would like to share!

Perhaps at no other time of year is the strong Scandinavian Lutheran heritage of the Upper Midwest more apparent than during the Christmas season…when choirs and churches ring with the beautiful choral music of the season. We usually take in one Christmas choral concert each year… this year it was ‘Welcome Christmas’ with VocalEssence… with 200 voices, made me think of college choral Christmas concerts.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Yesterday was the coldest day of the season so far, with wind chills below zero. I asked our son what he felt like for dinner last night and he said ‘something warm and creamy.’ What I picked was this recipe from cravinghomecooked.com. The recipe calls for 2 pounds chicken, but it would be fine with 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 pounds.

CREAMY TUSCAN CHICKEN PASTA

• 2 pounds chicken breasts boneless and skinless
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper freshly ground
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter unsalted
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes drained, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoons Italian seasoning
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated
• 8 ounce penne or macaroni, uncooked
• 3 cups baby spinach

Cook Chicken: Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken breasts and and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes per side until browned. When the chicken is cooked, remove it from the skillet. Cut the chicken in 1 inch pieces. Set aside.

Make Sauce: Add the butter to the pot and melt over medium heat. Add the garlic, sun dried tomatoes, Italian seasoning to the pot and saute until aromatic.

Cook: Add the heavy cream, milk, Parmesan cheese, penne and stir. Cook for 10 minutes or until the pasta is al dente, stirring occasionally.

Finish: Add the chicken back to the pot and the spinach and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes or until the chicken has warmed through and spinach has wilted.

Serve: Serve warm.