Chicken Penne Pasta in a bacon-spinach-tomato cream sauce

The name of this dish is quite a mouthful, but not nearly so much so as the meal itself. This is one of my favorite dishes to make for company. Pasta can serve a crowd, most everyone enjoys it, and I have the chance to make chicken. Have I mentioned before that my hubby doesn't like America's favorite bird? He's not a fan of chicken, but I love it's versatility. And this pasta is a winner in my extended family circle. I have two daughters-in-law who have asked for the recipe, as well as my sweet friend Angie that I met through this blog. Remember when she came to see me? Her hubby wanted her to get the recipe. It is simple enough. I combined two Pinterest recipes and then did it my way. I'm going to try to show you what I do, but I do it in different amounts, depending on how many I am feeding. I'm afraid you are going to have to trust your gut on some of the measurements. But this meal is perfect for adjusting as you go! I will have the ingredient list written out at the end for you...

First off, start a big pot of water to boil for your pasta. There is nothing more disappointing than finishing your sauce and realizing the pasta water hasn't even come to a boil. I use penne, because it is a bite-size shape that coats well. Now you are going to cut 7 strips bacon into lardon. That's the French word for bacon cut into matchsticks, see above. Fry this crisp in a 12 inch cast iron skillet, and then remove to a bowl, leaving the fat behind in the skillet.

Now you are going to clean and trim about 1 and1/2 pounds of chicken breasts and slice them into planks to cook. Cutting like this helps them cook faster, but leaves them in large enough pieces that they stay moist. (You could also use tenderloins, but they cost more) Season these well with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and paprika.Then cook them in the bacon fat over medium to med-low heat, till browned on the outside. Remove to a bowl, and continue till all chicken is cooked, adding drizzles of olive oil if the pan starts to get dry.

Look at the skillet. All the crustiness and seasoning from the chicken has left a delicious "fond". That is the name for the flavorful coating a pan gets after cooking meat. This is going to infuse your whole sauce! To the pan you will add a can of tomatoes, preferably canned with herbs and onions. I use my own home-canned ones, and so my sauce may be a little chunkier. Use this to "deglaze" the pan. This is just stirring the juice about in the heated pan until the "fond" comes off the bottom and melds with the juices. YUM!

Here's how it looks so far. I also finely chopped 1/2 of an 8 oz jar of sundried tomatoes packed in olive oil and stirred them in. They give a great color and a much deeper flavor than regular tomatoes. To the side, our bacon and chicken are patiently waiting.

Now, it is hard to say how much spinach I use. Sometimes I get it in a little box, other times a bag, depending on what I find. If you are worried about the taste in the pasta and thinking you won't like it, trust me- you never taste it, ha ha! So why put it in? It gives a nice color, and it adds all those great vitamins and minerals we are all supposed to be so excited about ;). But honestly, my reason is color and texture. Get a bag or two small boxes. Thaw the spinach (a bowl of hot water to place the bag in works well). Then squeeze all the juice out that you can. If you leave in too much liquid, it will make the sauce runny. Once I put the Mighty Mouse squeeze on it, this is the whole amount of spinach that was in this bag!! It's about 1 cup measurement when squeezed. But commercial spinach can be stringy and stumpy- ewww. So I put it on the cutting board and I chop it finely. This is just going to be nice green shreds in the sauce.

Then cut your chicken into chunks or medallions- just bite-sized bits. And pour any of the delicious pan juices into your skillet for added flavor. Stir in 1 tsp of Italian seasoning, and 5 cloves of garlic, minced. See the lovely red of the two kind of tomatoes, and the green of the spinach? Pretty and scrumptuous!

This step is optional, but I love it. Pour out 1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper on your cutting board and chop it. Yes, it will fly everywhere like jumping crickets! But I like to chop it, because otherwise you get just a couple really big hits of heat. This way it is broken up and spreads more evenly through the dish. This is a creamy sauce that really benefits from the addition of spice. If you are worried about the heat being too much, wait until the dish is finished cooking and carefully add powdered cayenne pepper, a bit at a time, to your taste. The heat is subtle and quickly fades, but adds so much to this sauce!

I've put the pasta in to cook, and while the water is coming back up to a boil, we add the 1 cup of cream, plus 1 cup of grated Parmesean cheese in our sauce.

Once the pasta is cooked al dente, I drain it, then drizzle and toss with a touch of olive oil. I hate stuck together pasta. Now is when you can cover the pasta with a cloth, turn the sauce off, and put on a lid if your company hasn't arrived yet. This is what I did when Angie and her family were coming. I wasn't sure how long it would take them, since they had never been to my house. If you need to reheat the sauce when your company/family gets there, you might need to add a touch of cream to loosen it up again.

The last step is to throw in the reserved bacon and chicken. You may find you have cooked more chicken than you need. Just eyeball the pan and add as much as you think will be nicely coated in sauce. You can save the rest for a chicken salad. Stir and heat the meat through on low, added tiny drips of cream if necessary to bring it all together. This is a terrible and unappetizing picture, but it is not easy to remember to take pictures as I cook, more-or-less to be sure that they are pretty and clear! Now I stir the pasta right into the pan, only adding as much as it will coat. That way the pasta is sitting there slurping up the flavors, instead of just spooning the sauce over bland noodles.

These pictures make up for the ugly ones! Top your pasta with a bit of grated Parmesan cheese. The real stuff, from a wedge. They sell it quite affordably at both Aldi and Walmart, and it keeps for months. Add a salad and some bread and you have a meal fit for a king! Or, better yet, friends and family :). And my daughter-in-law, Belle, can attest that this is just as good as leftovers. She loved it so much, that she had it for lunch for days! For big gatherings, double the recipe and hopefully you will still have leftovers.

And just a side note- for a bit of something special, the bread is topped with a French style compound butter, called Maitre d'Hotel butter. It is simply softened butter mixed with lemon zest and finely chopped parsley. It is delicious, but it is also excellent with rich dishes like this and Boeuf Bourguignon, because it cleanses the palate as you eat and makes a heavy meal seem lighter. 

And there you have it, Dear Reader! One of my favorite "company's coming" meals! Please holler if you have any questions, and I hope you enjoy it. Below is the grocery list of ingredients, but feel free to play with the recipe as I did!

Ingredients:
7 strips of bacon (thick cut is wonderful)
1 and 1/2 pound of chicken breasts or tenders
olive oil
spices- salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning, paprika, crushed red pepper/or powdered cayenne pepper
1 can of tomatoes with herbs and onions
jar sundried tomatoes in oil
1 cup spinach (this is the measurement after it has been squeezed dry)
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup cream /or half and half
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (plus more for topping pasta)
1 box of penne pasta (I like Barilla)

*bread and salad to round out the dinner- Enjoy!