Pink Macaroni, Chicken and Peas
- Minutes to Prepare:
- Minutes to Cook:
- Number of Servings: 8
Ingredients
16 oz dry whole wheat macaroni1/4 cup water1 small onion, diced 1 red bell pepper, diced 3 cloves garlic, minced 6 oz skinless, boneless chicken breast, cubed 1/2 cup frozen peas 10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry6 oz tomato paste 1/2 cup water 1/2 tbsp olive oil3 tbsp cornstarch1/3 cup cold water1 cup chicken stock2 cups 1% milk 1/2 tsp pepper1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese3 sprigs fresh parsley, chopped
Preheat oven to 350F.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil, cook the pasta 4 minutes. Drain, but do not rinse. Pasta should still be firm.
Heat water in a large non-stick pan. Saute the onion, pepper, and garlic until tender.
Add chicken, cooking until almost done.
Add in the peas, spinach, tomato paste, and water.
Continue to cook, stirring, until chicken is no longer pink. Season sparingly with salt and pepper and remove from heat while preparing bechamel.
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
Mix in the stock and milk, season with pepper.
Whisk the cornstarch and water until smooth, then stir into sauce.
Stir in 1/2 cup of the mozzarella, and cook until the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
In a large bowl, mix the cooked pasta with 1/2 the bechamel sauce.
Mix the chicken saute with the remaining bechamel and parsley in another bowl.
Place half the pasta in a foil-lined baking dish, then top with half the chicken mixture, and half the remaining mozzarella.
Add the remaining pasta, chicken and bechamel.
Top with remaining mozzarella cheese.
Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Number of Servings: 8
Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user JO_JO_BA.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil, cook the pasta 4 minutes. Drain, but do not rinse. Pasta should still be firm.
Heat water in a large non-stick pan. Saute the onion, pepper, and garlic until tender.
Add chicken, cooking until almost done.
Add in the peas, spinach, tomato paste, and water.
Continue to cook, stirring, until chicken is no longer pink. Season sparingly with salt and pepper and remove from heat while preparing bechamel.
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
Mix in the stock and milk, season with pepper.
Whisk the cornstarch and water until smooth, then stir into sauce.
Stir in 1/2 cup of the mozzarella, and cook until the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
In a large bowl, mix the cooked pasta with 1/2 the bechamel sauce.
Mix the chicken saute with the remaining bechamel and parsley in another bowl.
Place half the pasta in a foil-lined baking dish, then top with half the chicken mixture, and half the remaining mozzarella.
Add the remaining pasta, chicken and bechamel.
Top with remaining mozzarella cheese.
Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Number of Servings: 8
Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user JO_JO_BA.
Nutritional Info Amount Per Serving
- Calories: 384.8
- Total Fat: 6.0 g
- Cholesterol: 26.9 mg
- Sodium: 670.2 mg
- Total Carbs: 61.4 g
- Dietary Fiber: 7.7 g
- Protein: 22.2 g