Move over Olive Garden...

PASTA FORMAGGIO WITH GRILLED CHICKEN AND FRESH SPINACH

Yes I know...Not exactly a low fat way to start the new year!  But for me when life gets tough, I play in the kitchen!  Some friends took us to Olive Garden recently for our Christmas gift, and one of them had a very yummy looking dish. Of course I didn't taste it, but I tried to "study" it as much as I could.  This is what I came up with...and how I did it...

I took two chicken breasts that I had previously grilled on my George Foreman and had frozen.  I cut them in thin slices and set aside.  

Into a sauce pan I put 2 cups of heavy cream, 2 T. grated Asiago Cheese, 2 T. grated LeGruyee Cheese, and 2 T. grated Parmesan Cheese, 1 T. flour, 1 tsp. garlic salt.  I stirred this while cooking on low heat until the cheeses melted and the flour made the mixture a little bit thick.

Still keeping the heat low, I then added 2-3 ozs. of fresh baby spinach...

and the grilled chicken...and I turned the heat off...

In another pan I had boiled lasagne noodles, about 1/2 a box...

After draining the noodles, I put them into a casserole dish...and poured the sauce mixture on and carefully stirred it up so all the noodles were covered...

As if there wasn't already enough cheese in this dish, I topped the whole thing with grated Mozzerella...

and baked it at 350℉ for about 30 minutes until the Mozzerella melted...

and I garnished it with some more spinach leaves.  If we had any good tomatoes I would have chopped some and added that as a garnish as well to make it look prettier.  And if I had any fresh mushrooms in the house, I probably would have added some to the sauce.

This only took a few minutes to prepare for the oven.  I hope you'll try it.  Tell me if you do!