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Chicken and Spinach Pasta; planning and the potager

Thyme for Cooking Posted on by

I like flexible recipes.

They are crucial to today’s style of cooking – at least for me.

I do my shopping online every 2 weeks. I don’t know what will be available until I log in and I don’t know what might be substituted.

Instead of my usual, careful menu planning before I shop it’s turned into a bit of an adventure after the food is picked up and unpacked.

This pasta dish, for example…. I used chicken breasts but it could have turkey or pork or sausage. Cheddar could replace the feta and green olives or no olives for the dry-cured Greek olives. The pepper could be any color and the spinach could be fresh instead of frozen – or peas or corn…..

You get the idea.

Currently I’m using a lot of frozen spinach and peas as the both are always available, frozen, in big bags.

This is made with what I had in the kitchen on that day.

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Chicken and Spinach Pasta

Chicken & Spinach Pasta

I used small shell-shaped pasta in this. Use whatever bite-size pasta you have on hand.

  • Author: Katie
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 2 servings 1x
  • Category: Pasta

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1/2 red pepper, sliced, slices cut in half
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbs paprika
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1 3/4 cups (15oz, 450gr) peeled, chopped tomatoes
  • 1/2 (4oz, 120ml) cup white wine
  • 8oz (250gr) frozen spinach
  • 2 tsp dried basil
  • 2 tsp dried parsley
  • 5oz (150gr) feta, cubed
  • 1/2 cup (10 – 12 olives) dry-cured, pitted Greek olives. cut in half
  • 1oz (30gr) grated Parmesan
  • 1 1/4 cups (4oz, 120gr) pasta, bite-size 

Instructions

  • Cook the pasta according to package directions.
  • Heat oil in a large skillet.
  • Add paprika and sauté briefly, then add onion, pepper and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes. 
  • Add chicken and sauté until cooked through, 6 – 8 minutes.
  • Add wine, herbs, tomatoes and spinach. Cook, uncovered, until spinach is thawed and sauce has reduced and thickened, about 10 minutes
  • Add olives, feta and cooked, drained pasta. 
  • Toss to combine.
  • Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.

Notes

I use small chicken breasts, about 12oz (360gr) total weight.

Keywords: chicken, spinach, pasta, feta

Pasta with Chicken & Spinach

I have 16 tomato plants, that I started from seed, almost ready to go into the ground.

I have 4 summer squash plants, 1 spaghetti squash, 3 big blue pumpkin plants (Crown Prince), and 4 delicata in the ground with 4 butternut squash and 4 acorn squash going in tomorrow – all started from seed.

I’m seriously thinking about getting another freezer…. Not replacing the one we have but getting a second one.

I normally have our current freezer packed within an inch by the beginning of October. That presented a problem last fall when we got a wonderful whole lamb…. no room.

And it’s always a tight squeeze at Christmas when I need room for the holiday baking.

As it is, I usually throw away all of the last few weeks of tomatoes and summer squash. There is just no room.

If there is a possibility of another lock-down over the winter months I want to be better prepared. I certainly don’t want to be thinking about all the food relegated to the compost pile.

I may buy a bit of bread flour – just in case.

I still will not stockpile toilet paper.

Comments

Chicken and Spinach Pasta; planning and the potager — 4 Comments

  1. When we replace our current freezer, I’ll buy an upright. I like the efficiency of the chest freezer better in that you don’t ‘lose’ the cold much every time you open the door. But I also can’t find anything because it always ends up buried at the bottom. What I’d really like to do is keep the chest freezer for a side of beef and use an upright for everything else but I don’t want two freezers right now.

    Your dish looks excellent. One of those ‘toss this and that in’ recipes. 🙂

    It’s still way too cold to plant. We’re supposed to have snow again tomorrow.

    • I would get another upright. The one we have is small, but big enough normally. It’s also old, so I’m thinking have 2 for the pandemic, The old one should be about done by then lol. We use the freezer in the fridge for things that get used often – bags of veggies, bread, ice…. Minimizes the opening of the freezer.

  3. We’re getting good at it…. and discovering things we like but never ate because we always had fresh.

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