Hearty orecchiette pasta combines with chicken, roasted red peppers, spinach, and Alfredo sauce for a satisfying Italian-style meal.
Tonight's dinner was supposed to be Chicken Marsala but alas, my distracted nature had me running all over the grocery store for items needed for a science experiment and I didn't realize until I got home that I forgot to get mushrooms. I didn't want to head back to the store so I decided to figure something out using what I had on hand: pasta, a jar of roasted red peppers, grilled and chopped chicken in the freezer, an onion, some bacon, a jar of Alfredo sauce, and a bag of baby spinach that I had planned to use in a salad.
It was literally a super easy 15 minute meal that everyone loved, and the name was voted to be Orecchiette Florentine. Doesn't it look yummy? It's quick and easy and tastes fantastic!
You may not be familiar with orecchiette pasta, but it is one that it worth checking into. Literally "small ear" in Italian, the pasta's shape reflects its name. It is a thick cut roundish pasta with a depression in the center, and some versions of the pasta have ridges while others are smooth. The center is slightly thinner than the edge. Its hearty cut makes it a good choice for dishes where the pasta is a central part of the dish, as in Easy Orecchiette Florentine.
Sides that work well with Easy Orecchiette Florentine: salad, steamed broccoli, yogurt or cottage cheese and fruit, peas, green beans.
Easy Orecchiette Florentine
Hearty orecchiette pasta combines with chicken, roasted red peppers, spinach, and Alfredo sauce for a satisfying Italian-style meal.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 onion, sliced
- 6 slices turkey bacon, cooked & chopped
- 12 oz jar roasted red bell peppers, sliced
- 1 lb bag orecchiette pasta
- 1-½ cups cooked chicken
- 1 bag baby spinach
- 15 oz jar Alfredo sauce
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package instructions.
- While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a large fry pan. Sauté onion and chopped turkey bacon in butter until onion is translucent and tender.
- Add roasted bell peppers, cooked chicken, and entire bag of spinach and cook over medium heat until spinach is wilted.
- By now your pasta should be done. Drain and rinse, then add pasta to pan with vegetables and chicken.
- Pour the Alfredo sauce over all and stir until coated.
- Heat through, garnish with Parmesan cheese, and serve immediately.
Notes
If you don't have orecchiette pasta, you can use shell pasta, but orecchiette is worth searching out. I find that Lidl and Aldi often carry it, and even Walmart sometimes stocks it in the Sam's Choice brand.
Nutrition per serving
Calories: 561 calCarbohydrates: 64 gProtein: 27 gFat: 21 gSodium: 1643 mgFiber: 4 gSugar: 4 g
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