Creamy Chicken Florentine

If you haven't noticed yet, many of our weeknight recipes are chicken (and many are in creamy sauces!). So keeping with that trend Steve and I tried our hands at a new creamy chicken recipe - this time a Florentine.

Steve found the recipe on the Kraft Foods / Kraft Canada website. When Steve first looked over the recipe he thought that we would not need to adjust it at all, but when I took a look at it I suggested we swap out the spinach for broccoli (I am not a big spinach fan). And I was happy to see that even the website recommends that as a possible substitute!

Here are the ingredients that you will need for this recipe:

•  3 cups penne pasta, uncooked 
•  1 Tbsp. oil
•  1 lb. (450 g) boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips 
•  1 orange pepper, cut into strips 
•  4 cups tightly packed baby spinach leaves 
•  1 tub (270 g) Philadelphia Herb & Garlic Cooking Creme
•   2 Tbsp. toasted pine nuts

And if you want to do the same thing we did (swap the spinach for brocolli) the website recommends this variation:

• Substitute 2 cups small broccoli florets for the peppers and spinach, adding the broccoli to the cooking water for the last 2 min. of the pasta cooking time.

We chose to keep the peppers in though - we both love peppers!

Here is how Kraft Foods / Kraft Canada suggests you bring it all together:

1. Cook pasta as directed on package, omitting salt. 
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir 5 to 7 min. or until done. Stir in peppers and spinach; cook 2 min., stirring frequently. Add Cooking Creme; cook and stir 2 to 3 min. or until heated through. 
3. Drain pasta, reserving 1/3 cup cooking water. Gradually add reserved water to sauce mixture until desired consistency is reached. Add pasta; mix lightly. Top with pine nuts. Serve immediately.

This was a very easy recipe and I loved the added crunch and flavor that the toasted pine nuts added. I am sure that we will be adding this to our regular recipe rotation.

Give this recipe a try when you need a mix up your regular weeknight chicken dish.

Bon appetite & enjoy!