Dinner with Kileen!

My sister Kileen saw a recipe by PioneerWoman and wanted to make it with me. Even though we forgot to include the cream cheese and chicken stock, and used 2% milk instead of whole, it was still super delicious... and we probably saved ourselves quite a  few calories. I added some oven baked breaded chicken to the mix. We also oven toasted the panko breading before tossing it in. Drake loved it so much. Kileen's little girl seemed to like the pasta part. My two other kids only tolerated a bite in order to get a piece of french bread. David ate some without the spinach or artichokes. The flavor (keeping in mind it didn't have cream cheese or chicken stock) was savory and creamy, a little crunch from the panko,  a little kick of heat from the crushed red pepper flakes, a little tang from the artichokes. I think if we added sauteed mushrooms that would have been a delicious addition.... funny little story... I just typed in that line about the mushrooms, when my sister Kileen calls me and says she is heating up her leftovers for lunch, she says "This would probably be really good with some sauteed mushrooms"... haha, I thought "how did she read my blog post so fast..." then realized I hadn't even published it yet! Great minds, people, think alike. We are not food photographers so sorry if it doesn't look appetizing, trust us, it was.

Folding in the fresh baby spinach

adding the chicken

crusty yet soft, freshly baked french bread

a bite with the bread