Chicken Bake with Spinach & Artichokes....oh my!

Yay!  An exciting new recipe!  

Everyone loves a casserole, and if you don't, you are kidding yourself.

Mac 'n cheese.......lasagne........tuna casserole (well, maybe not tuna casserole, yuck).   Casseroles are comfort food and never go out of style.

This casserole is actually pretty healthy, except if you are afraid of a little mayo, then I can't help you here.

I had a big bunch of beautiful spinach from the farmers market and 2 lonely chicken breasts in the freezer.   This was going on the menu.

I adapted the recipe from downshiftology, and I cut the recipe to feed 4 instead of a larger crowd.     The 2 large chicken breasts along with one can of artichokes and a big bunch of spinach was plenty.

Why I loved this recipe:   I didn't have to saute the onions or spinach, everything gets tossed in a big bowl with the chicken before baking.   So simple.

A tip:  Make sure you use plenty of seasoning.  I used dried dill and thyme, but I think garlic powder would be a good seasoning to use next time.

I served it over basmati rice and we loved it.

Here is my adaptation of the recipe:  (click here if you want to see the original recipe which makes more servings).

Chicken Bake w/ Spinach & Artichokes:

2-3 large boneless chicken breast halves, cut into pieces

big handful of fresh spinach, chopped

1 yellow onion, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1 can of artichoke hearts, drained, and halved

salt & pepper

1/2 cup of grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese (I like pecorino)

Sauce:

1/2 cup Hellmann's Real mayonnaise 

juice of half a lemon & zest

dried dill and thyme 

2 garlic cloves, grated on a microplane

Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and place in a large bowl (I like to use a glass bowl).

Top the chicken with the onion, chopped spinach and bell pepper.  Add in the artichoke hearts to the bowl and the grated cheese.

Whisk up the dressing and pour over all the ingredients in the bowl.  Season with salt & pepper.   

Pour everything into an 8" x 10" baking dish (no need to grease it).

Another nice thing about this dish is you can totally prepare this ahead of time and just pop it in the oven before dinner.

Bake for 30 minutes at 400F.   

Serve over rice.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!