Country House Chicken Penne

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 lbs ground chicken
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 (796 ml) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons basil, dried
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pepper
• 4 cups penne, cooked
• 6 cups fresh spinach
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• fresh parsley, chopped
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Recipe

• 1 in a dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat; stir-fry chicken, breaking up chunks, until no longer pink. add onions, garlic, carrot and red pepper; cook until softened. stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, salt and pepper. simmer for 30 minutes. toss penne with chicken mixture and spoon into a 13 x 9 casserole dish. top with spinach.
• 2 method for cheese sauce:
• 3 meanwhile in a saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter. add flour and stir for 2 minutes.
• 4 whisk in milk and bring to a boil. reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes or until thickened. stir in mozzarella, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
• 5 pour cheese sauce over spinach and sprinkle with parmesan.
• 6 bake in a 375f oven for 45 minutes. top with chopped parsley, if using, and let stand for 15-20 minutes at room temperature before serving.