Week 3 - Marcie's Pasta with Spinach, Tomatoes and Smoked Gouda

Yes, this is my third smoked gouda recipe for this challenge, but when I started searching for ideas, I found so many that I wanted to try.  So I bought one wheel of smoked gouda, and decided to try them all!

The idea for this recipe came from myrecipes but of course I changed it up some.  I didn't think the smoked gouda flavor came through very well, so next time I would try sprinkling the pasta dish with extra smoked gouda, and then baking it in the oven for 10 minutes (as the original recipe suggested, but I ran out of time and cheese and so skipped that).  Becky, Ben and I all liked this dish, but the kids ate everything plain.

Pasta with Spinach, Tomatoes & Smoked Gouda

serves 6

1 tablespoon olive oil 
1 cup chopped onion 
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups grape tomatoes, cut in half (next time add 1 can petite diced tomatoes)
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
5 cups baby spinach 

6 ounces uncooked ziti

2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
 1/2 cup shredded, smoked Gouda cheese

Cook the pasta according to package directions.

Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil until softened.  Add the tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the spinach to the pan, stirring until wilted, about 2 minutes.  Combine pasta, chicken, cheese and tomato mixture, stirring to combine.  Serve hot.