FRIDAY CHICKEN AND BUTTERFLY PASTA

   

I hope you enjoy this great “end of the week” meal.  I use Farfalle pasta, which means “butterfly” in Italian.  Have fun!

4-6 chicken breasts

1 small onion, quartered

2 stalks celery, cleaned and cut in thirds

1 can cream of celery soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 teaspoons of black pepper

½ cup fresh basil, roughly chopped

One  2-ounce jar of pimentos, strained

1 cup of chopped fresh tomatoes

3 cups of fresh spinach

½ box of farfalle (butterfly) pasta—cooked in strained chicken broth (from boiling the chicken, onion and celery).

1 cup (more or less) of strained chicken broth

2 cups shredded parmesan cheese

2 cups panko bread crumbs

¾ stick butter or margarine,melted

Instructions:

*Boil chicken with onion and celery (this will take 1-1 and1/2 hours). When tender, cool and cut into bite-size pieces—discard onion and celery but do not discard the chicken broth.

*Strain the chicken broth and return to pot.

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

*Cook the pasta in the strained chicken broth.

*Spray a 9x11 Pyrex baking dish with PAM

*Place cut up chicken with one can of cream of celery soup and one can of cream of chicken soup into the baking dish.

*Add black pepper and basil

*Stir in pimentos, tomatoes and spinach (spinach will cook down).

*Spoon in pasta and enough chicken broth to loosen up mixture so that it  does not become too dry as it cooks.

*Sprinkle parmesan cheese over entire top surface of the casserole.

*Mix bread crumbs with butter.

*Sprinkle bread crumb mixture over entire top surface of the casserole.

*Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top.