Chicken Pasta with Artichoke Spinach Cream Sauce

When I think of comfort food, I think of bubbling pasta dishes that ooze cheese and are bursting with flavor and savory goodness. After a long day of work, there's nothing more relaxing to me than settling down at the table with a big plate of warm noodles and eating to my heart (and stomach's!) content.But here's the caveat: after a busy day, I don't want to spend too much time slaving over a stove top when there's the couch and Netflix calling my name! When I want my pasta, I want it as fast as possible while still getting maximum yum factor.That's why this recipe for Chicken Pasta with Artichoke Spinach Cream Sauce is absolutely perfect for me. I mean, c'mon! Just reading the name itself makes me want to lick the screen!While it sounds complicated and fancy, this dish is easy enough to make on a weeknight, but still impressive enough for company.

The other day I tiredly came trudging in to my apartment feeling drained and exhausted. I was starving, so I made a beeline to the fridge, saw nothing already made, and resigned myself to heating up a microwave turkey dinner that had been sitting in the freezer since the Ice Age.And yup, food bloggers have those day too! Luckily, I have a habit of rechecking the fridge every two seconds when I'm hungry (as if somehow more food would magically appear), and after my third sweep I realized that I had the ingredients to put together a pretty killer pasta dish.All it took were a few staple ingredients, and presto! My pasta dreams were about to come true.

I pulled out a mess of ingredients and got to work. Into my pot went a few pats of butter, some chopped onion, garlic, that half-and-half I usually use for my morning coffee, and a tiny bit of flour to get everything all thickened up and groovy.Then, it was time for the good stuff! Yeehaw! I had plenty of fresh parmesan on hand, so it made a happy appearance in my white sauce. As I stirred it in and watched it melt smoothly, all I could think about was how glorious melty cheese is.I made a mental note to prepare my tastebuds for a party, then got back to work. Looking back in the fridge, I pulled out some fresh spinach, pre-cooked chicken, and mushrooms.By themselves, just boring ingredients, but together, a masterpiece of flavors! Am I being too dramatic? Nah. 

I let all the ingredients meld together before topping the sauce on some fusilli pasta noodles because fun shapes taste better. It's a fact. That's why spongebob-shaped Kraft mac and cheese is so much more delicious and rewarding to eat than their original noodles.Also, please don't let the fact that I'm a food blogger who eats microwavable meals and Kraft mac and cheese on a regular basis affect our friendship. The moral of this story is that you could have a big, steamy plate of cheesy pasta in front of you in no time at all.Ditch that freezer food and throw this recipe together! Then, open up your windows so my pasta-senses start tingling and I know to come over to have a bite. Our tastebuds can have that party together and everyone will be happy. Hooray!