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Garlicky Chicken with Spinach over Pasta

Developed for CFC by Nancy Guppy, RD, MHSc
This pasta recipe is easy and affordable. Using pantry spices to add flavour to store-bought pasta sauce, it comes together quickly and will be ready to go to the table in under half an hour.
Serves
Serves 4
This pasta recipe is easy and affordable. Using pantry spices to add flavour to store-bought pasta sauce, it comes together quickly and will be ready to go to the table in under half an hour.
Garlicky Chicken with Spinach over Pasta
4
boneless, skinless chicken breast(s)
4
10 oz
whole wheat spaghettini
280 g
2 cups
Marinara pasta sauce
500 mL
2 Tbsp
extra virgin olive oil
30 mL
1 tsp
black pepper, freshly ground
5 mL
6 cloves
garlic, minced
6 cloves
1 tsp
basil, fresh
5 mL
1 tsp
thyme, dried
5 mL
8 oz
spinach
250 g
Preparation
Serves
Serves 4
  
Cook time : 20 min
 | 
Preparation time : 5 min
Garlicky Chicken with Spinach over Pasta
1
Cook pasta in unsalted boiling water according to package directions. Gently heat the pasta sauce.
2
Heat olive oil in sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken breast pieces and cook until browned. Sprinkle in fresh ground black pepper, finely minced garlic and herbs and cook a few minutes more until chicken is nicely coated and cooked thoroughly, a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest piece should read 165°F (74°C). Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm.
3
Wash spinach and shake dry. Add to same skillet used to cook the chicken -- cover and cook 2 minutes or until tender. The water that clings to the leaves is sufficient to wilt the spinach.
4
Toss hot pasta with the heated Marinara sauce and divide among 4 individual plates. Top each with wilted spinach and the garlicky herb chicken and serve.
Notes: Do not add salt to the water used to cook pasta, rice etc. to cut back on your salt intake. Most ready-to-serve pasta sauces are seasoned and contain a lot of salt and you won’t notice the difference.

You can further reduce salt in recipes by using fresh herbs. Dried herbs are stronger than fresh. A useful formula is 1 Tablespoon fresh herbs = 1 teaspoon dried.