One pot wonder

It is a rainy Sunday afternoon and after spending most of the day writing articles, I just don't feel like cooking dinner for me and the husband. It is football day for him and even if I liked his cooking (which I don't) he is unavailable. His idea would be to call out for a pizza.

I could live on pizza but that would not be practical being that I need to watch every penny that leaves this house. I forced myself to go into the kitchen and survey what options I had for an easy dinner for two.

I decided on a old favorite. Here is my recipe for italian chicken with spinach and pasta.

You will need:
2 boneless chicken breasts
1 large can crushed tomatoes
chopped garlic (about 2 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon basil
salt and pepper
1 cup frozen chopped spinach
1/2 lb spaghetti rigati
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

In a medium dutch oven, slowly cook the garlic in the olive oil. While this is cooking, slice up the chicken into bite sized pieces and add to the pot to brown. Actually you are not "browning" the chicken but making it white on both sides.

When all the chicken is added, stir until no pink is visible. Stir in the frozen spinach, basil,salt and pepper and can of crushed tomatoes. Add 1 1/2 cans of water to the pot. Stir together.

Break the spaghetti into thirds and stir in. For the next 10 minutes you will need to stir often so that the spaghetti doesn't clump together.
After that, allow it to cook with a lid on it for an additional 10 minutes or until the spaghetti is done to your liking.
Remove the lid and allow it to cool for a few minutes.
Serve in a shallow bowl with grated parmesan on the side.

Total cooking time for this is about 30 minutes and prep time can be as little as 5 minutes. It sure is better than ordering a pizza. There is only 1 pot to wash and a cutting board plus the plates you eat off.
Add more garlic if you prefer but this is really a tasty dish as is.

Leftovers are great for Monday's brown bag lunch. No pizza box to throw in recycling and no waiting for the delivery. Once you taste this and see how easy it is to make, you will be glad you used items you had on hand to create a delicious one pot wonder.