Chicken-Penne Florentine Bake

photo by:kraft

What’s not to love? Chicken, spinach and two kinds of cheese are baked with multi-grain pasta for a totally satisfying—and better-for-you—take on an Italian favorite.

time

prep:

25 min

total:

43 min

servings

total:

6 servings, 1 cup each

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What You Need

cups multi-grain penne pasta, uncooked

lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

Tbsp. flour

Tbsp. KRAFT Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette Dressing

cup fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth

oz. (1/4 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, cubed

pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained

cup KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

Make It

HEAT oven to 375ºF.

COOK pasta as directed on package, omitting salt.

MEANWHILE, toss chicken with flour. Heat dressing in large skillet on medium heat. Add chicken; cook and stir 3 min. or until evenly browned. Add broth and Neufchatel; cook 3 min. or until Neufchatel is melted, stirring frequently. Stir in spinach.

DRAIN pasta. Add to chicken mixture; mix lightly. Spoon half into 2-qt. casserole sprayed with cooking spray; top with 1/2 cup mozzarella. Repeat layers; sprinkle with Parmesan.

BAKE 16 to 18 min. or until mozzarella is melted and casserole is heated through.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Make Ahead

Pasta can be cooked ahead of time. Cook as directed on package, just until al dente. Rinse pasta, drain well and place in a freezer-weight resealable plastic bag. Freeze up to 2 months. When ready to use, thaw pasta by running hot tap water over pasta; drain. Then, use as directed.

Keeping it Safe

Cutting raw boneless chicken breasts into pieces is a slippery task. Make it safer and prevent the knife from slipping by cutting the chicken while it is partially frozen.

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prizejules

posted:10/3/2010

Made this for a Sunday dinner. I doubled the recipe (except for dressing) as I am feeding a family of 7. I used half a bottle of dressing and added fresh mushrooms and garlic. I was really good, if I would have used only double the dressing I am postitive it would have been way to bland and dry. All the kids loved it.

roach808

posted:10/2/2010

Wow, it was really good! It does involve quite a few steps, but it was worth it in the end. The boyfriend went back for seconds! We used halibut instead of chicken because we have TONS of that (being in Alaska) and I was a little nervous it'd be too different, but it was perfect and I'd actually use MORE than a pound of meat. The flavors were really nice and I think it'll also make great leftovers! Would make again for sure.

krappa1

posted:10/2/2010

Absolutely delicious. Made a couple minor changes to the ingredients (did not have the salad dressing and replaced with Zesty Italian instead) and doubled the recipe for multiple meals. The sauce was delicious and the whole wheat pasta provided even more depth in the flavor. Will definitely make this again!

a cook

posted:10/2/2010

LOVED! this recipe. My roomates and I made it, and then all made it again for our boyfriends. We did add Roma tomatoes, which I think added a lot of flavor and color! Loved this :)

Lavina1966

posted:10/1/2010

Made this for dinner tonight and everyone loved it. I'll definitley be making this dish again. I think it would make a perfect dish for a potluck.

watsonwtp

posted:9/30/2010

Very good. I'll add to my recipe line up. Thanks to LisaE8 for the spinach tip. I don't like frozen spinach either and her idea worked perfectly!

osooosexxy

posted:9/29/2010

I added extra cream cheese and about 1/4 cup of half and half. It came out creamy & delicious!

destinie6

posted:9/29/2010

I did not have the sun-dried tomato dressing, so i substituted Sicilian Roasted Garlic Balsamic Vinagrette, and it still turned out very good, the three kiddos loved it, and it was super easy! Thanks!

susaneaston1

posted:9/29/2010

This is very bland. Could possibly be better with way more salad dressing.

a cook

posted:9/29/2010

Easy weeknite meal. Very tasty, however, I think that I will substitute ricotta cheese for the cream cheese next time. The cream cheese really had no flavor to it.