My Cream Sauce is better than Your Cream Sauce (and *Healthier* Too): Grilled Chicken Florentine Pasta

I started today with that “Florentine,” which really just means “spinach,” for those of you not used to that!

I was steaming it in the microwave. Buy a lot of spinach, it cooks down like nothing else.

Add a little bit of water (I just run it under the tap for a few seconds), cover, and into the microwave it goes for four minutes at a time, until the whole bag’s steamed. Stir it in between its four-minutes-es.

Next I did the chicken. Just one chicken breast, but this one’s a little over a pound, by itself. Use the big knife! The chef’s knife really IS best.

Trimmed up, and I’m just playing a bit with the spice cabinet before I put it on my George Foreman (my condo doesn’t have space for an outdoor grill, you see!): I patted parsley, thyme, and oregano into it.

I think I gave that eight minutes on the electric grill. It may not be as much fun as a gas grill outside, but it sure is a lot more convenient! 

I had eighty-seven other things going on in the kitchen (I’m making lunches for the week too), and the chicken grilled right there on my counter where I could keep an eye on it. And the George Foreman is even cleaned and ready to go back on its shelf while the chicken is resting.

IMPORTANT TIP for you newer cooks out there: don’t cut your meat right away after it’s cooked. Let it sit - oh, five or ten minutes or so - long enough to clean your grill, at least, lol! That keeps it juicier, less dry.

I was cooking my pasta while all this was going on. And that pasta-pot is KEY to the healthier cream sauce!

In my four-cup measure (if you do not have a glass four-cup measure you simply MUST get one), I have tossed in about two tablespoons minced garlic, half an 8-oz block of Neufchâtel cheese, and probably a teaspoon each of parsley and oregano - you see?

NOW, as I drain my pasta, I’m <reserving> TWO CUPS of the water the pasta cooked in! One cup is going in the four-cup measure, the other I’m saving to thin down the sauce if it needs it. Get a whisk and stir till it’s smooth.

You see?

I’m putting it in one of my great big mixing bowls to toss it all together, since I’m not serving it from here. A nice serving bowl would work as well!

*A note on that Neufchâtel: it’s often sold as the “low-fat cream cheese.” Which it is, a lower-fat cheese very similar to cream cheese - but it really is a separate kind of cheese (a Swiss cheese, from Switzerland, that is: as my friend Eric just reminded me, as he helped me title this blog post). I prefer it for cooking or for hot dips - I use it in my Spinach-Artichoke Dip, for example. Cheese balls and such, I prefer regular cream cheese. You can use either here; but I prefer the Neufchâtel!

GRILLED CHICKEN FLORENTINE PASTA

Large bag of fresh spinach (mine was 40 oz)

16oz Tinkanyada pasta

1lb chicken breasts

1/2 an 8oz block of Neufchâtel cheese

2T minced garlic

Parsley

Thyme

Oregano 

Fresh Parmesan

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Steam the spinach in the microwave, four minutes at a time, until done. Set aside.

Pat parsley, thyme, and oregano onto chicken breasts, to taste. Grill chicken. Remove chicken from grill when done and set aside to rest. After 5-10 minutes, thinly slice chicken.

Roughly chunk the Neufchâtel into a large glass measure or small bowl. Add the garlic and more herbs, as desired.

When pasta is done, reserve two cups pasta water. Add one cup to the Neufchâtel mixture and stir until smooth. Thin with reserved pasta water as needed.

Toss steamed spinach, grilled chicken, pasta, and sauce together. Top with fresh Parmesan to serve.

Servings: 7

Calories per serving: 283