Super Simple Pasta Bake

Some nights you want a comforting, delicious meal… but don’t want to spend a ton of effort in cooking!

So, what to do on those types of nights? Lucky for you, those types of nights are my specialty 😉. That’s right! I’m a professional life-long lazy girl who also loves to eat good food. I love simple dishes and while this recipe is so simple that it hardly (does it really tho) qualifies as an actual recipe, it is one of my favorite meals. A true go-to easy dinner with minimal effort.

Pssst… the lazy girl trick is to use store-bought jarred pasta sauce and rotisserie chicken!

Ingredients:

• Jar of tomato pasta sauce
• 1/2 lb whole grain pasta
• 4 cups fresh spinach
• 1 cup shredded rotisserie chicken
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp grated black pepper
• 2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley (optional)

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, carefully reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water at the end.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375° F.
3. Drain the cooked pasta and add back to the pot. Add in the chicken, spinach, pasta sauce, spices, reserved pasta water, and stir well. (Note: the spinach should wilt with the heat of the pasta and later again in the oven)
4. Pour mixture into an oven-safe baking dish (13×9 inches works good) and spread evenly, patting it down lightly.
5. Uniformly distribute the cheeses on top.
6. Bake the pasta dish for about 25 minutes.
7. Let cool for a bit, then top with fresh chopped parsley (optional). Enjoy!

The fresh parsley add a pretty good color and additional flavor! If you’re up for a spicy kick, try adding red pepper flakes.