Spinach Artichoke Linguine with Grilled Chicken

Has anyone else experienced a rougher than usual week? I was glad to hear at my meeting with some fellow teachers that I was not the only one. Not only have the kids at school gotten progressively crazy (hello Halloween), but I also came home to all of the sidewalks and curb sides being torn out of the streets in our neighborhood. This includes a a chunk missing from my half of the driveway. I almost did not notice, as the street cone that available to warn me about the missing chunk had toppled over into the 1' depth of a 6' long piece of concrete missing between our driveway and the street. We did not get much advanced notice, as I saw the little flyer the excavating company left in on our door after said excavation. When I looked at the flyer, it did not have any of the check boxes marked for what repairs they would be making nor did they state the date they would be "excavating" our neighborhood. The Bear was furious, needless to say. I guess the benefit of having a husband who is a very skilled civil engineer for the neighboring suburb is to say that he knows people. We will just say that he made a few phone calls this morning and had some choice words to discuss with some of the individuals overseeing the project. Ha!

When life gets crazy, who doesn't crave carbs? Whether sweet, salty, crunchy it does not matter; research suggests that carbs help release serotonin into the brain. Thus, making us a little bit happier when stress gets us down. Normally, I am a salty, crunchy kind of gal. If I'm really down, mashed potatoes do the trick. Since I could not make an entire meal out of mashed potatoes last night, this Spinach Artichoke Pasta did the trick...

Mmmmmm carbohydrates! Pasta is a speedy meal in itself. I saved even more time by using leftover Spinach Artichoke Dip as my sauce. Add a little chicken for protein and you have a creamy, cheesy, one dish meal that is perfect after a tough day on the job:)

Spinach Artichoke Linguine with Grilled Chicken

8 oz. dried brown rice linguine (or other gluten-free noodle)

1/4 cup reserved pasta water

1 cup Spinach Artichoke Dip

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

4 4 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (marinated in My Marinade)

Cook pasta noodles according to package directions. While the pasta is cooking, start your grill and preheat to 350-400 degrees. Place the chicken on the grill. Discard the marinade. Grill for 5-6 minutes, then turn and grill another 5 minutes more. Remove from the grill and let rest on a plate.

Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta water before draining your noodles. Drain the noodles and place back in the pot. Add the reserved pasta water and Spinach Artichoke Dip. Stir until the noodles absorb the liquid and the sauce forms. Add the Parmesan cheese. Tossing and stirring until the cheese melts. At this point you can plate the pasta individually and then top with one sliced chicken breast per plate or chop the chicken and add directly to the pasta before serving. It is up to you:)

Bionaturae 32420 Organic Linguine Pasta Gluten Free (Google Affiliate Ad)Kraft 362445 Kraft Parmesan Cheese- Case of 200 (Google Affiliate Ad)