Jan 5, 2012

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!

8 comments:

Jennifer said...

YUM! It looks just like it ! Even better! Hope you paired the meal with some good wine!

Diana said...

This looks fabulous! I'm such a cheeseaholic! Love Di ♥

Lois Christensen said...

That looks really good. I love cheese and the cheese sauce looks amazing and so thick! Good job!

Dee said...
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Dee said...
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Dee said...

Those deletes are from me...my computer got a glitch or something...I just wanted to let you know I enjoy you sharing your recipes with all of us and that you really need to work on a cook book...:)

Rebecca said...

I don't think I've told you that I like your blog's background!

Pat said...

oh, this is calling my name! When I was in Italy in October I had gnocchi fromaggio which was similar but even heavier, if you can imagine! LOL! Everyone wanted to sample my plate, it was so good.
You have the best recipes, I really want to try this one!
Hugs!