Kitchen Sink Penne

I had no idea what to make for dinner today, when I started cleaning out the fridges veggie drawer this morning and I found half a bag of spinach, half an onion, a few mushrooms and part of a red pepper. I also had some fresh parsley and one lowly chicken breast.

I figured I could cook some pasta and toss it all together and I would have a perfect dinner!

The great thing about this pasta is you can use whatever veggies you have in the fridge, some kale would be good, or zucchini, how about peas or corn. Anything you have would be great!

What you need,

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2 cups dry penne, cooked according to package directions

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 chicken breast, diced

½ large onion, diced

½ large red pepper, diced

1 ½ cup button mushrooms, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups baby spinach

1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes

½ cup heavy cream

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. dried basil

½ tsp. red pepper flakes

3 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Salt and Pepper to taste

Start by cooking your pasta according to package directions. Reserve about 1 cup of the cooking water.

If you don’t have penne use whatever pasta you have on hand.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and cook for 5-6 minutes until browned and almost cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

Cook the onions in the pan for 1-2 minutes until they begin to soften. Add the red pepper and the mushrooms, cook for another 2-3 minutes. Toss in the garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.

Add in the spinach one cup at a time and cook until wilted. Season the veggies with the oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

Add the can of tomatoes with the juice and about ½ cup of the reserved pasta water stir to combine. Stir in the cream.

Add the pasta to the skillet and toss to combine. Use the remaining pasta water to thin the sauce as needed.

Stir in the cheese and parsley.

Let the pasta cook in the sauce for about 5 minutes then serve right away.

That’s it, easy peasy pasta that uses up all those veggies in the fridge.

Enjoy!

Jen