Spinach and Artichoke Pasta

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we moved.  One thing that I realized upon moving was that I had accumulated so much stuff over time!  It didn’t look like much from the outside, but after seeing the movers pack everything I realized that I had become a semi-hoarder!

In an effort to lighten the load (pun definitely intended), I’ve put a complete stop on shopping  (except for essentials) and I’ve been trying to cook things with what I’ve got in my pantry, instead of going out to buy new ingredients.  Recently I came across a jar of marinated artichoke hearts, so I ventured out to find a recipe that my son and I could enjoy (my husband isn’t an artichoke kinda guy).  I was intrigued when I stumbled upon a recipe for Creamy Spinach and Artichoke Pasta on Cassie Craves.  I adapted the recipe to increase the pasta to sauce ratio, and I replaced the cream cheese with additional sour cream (only because I don’t like the taste of cream cheese in pasta).  This pasta was a definite hit with my son and me, and I’m sure it will be with your family as well 🙂

Spinach and Artichoke Pasta

Yield:  6 – 8 Servings

Ingredients:

• 1 pound penne pasta
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 (13.5 oz.) can marinated artichoke hearts, drained and diced
• Salt, to taste
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• 4 cloves garlic, grated
• 1 ½ cups sour cream
• ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Directions:

Preheat broiler and set aside a greased casserole dish.

Cook the pasta until al dente according to the directions on the package.  Reserve ½ cup of pasta water before draining.  Drain, return to pot, and keep warm.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add artichoke hearts, salt, and pepper.  Cook until the artichokes have softened, about 2 minutes.  Add garlic, stir, and cook for another minute.  Add sour cream and parmesan cheese and cook until melted.  Stir in spinach.

Add pasta, reserved pasta water, and ½ cup mozzarella cheese to the spinach mixture and mix well so that the pasta and sauce are well combined.

Transfer pasta to greased casserole dish and top with remaining ½ cup mozzarella cheese.  Place pasta under the broiler until the cheese has melted and is bubbly, about 3 to 5 minutes.