Penne with Chicken, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, and Spinach

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Serves 4

Cooking Time 2 to 3 hours on High

Slow Cooker Size 5½ to 7 Quarts

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: With its enticing combination of moist chicken, fresh spinach, and sweet sun-dried tomatoes, all enrobed in a rich, creamy sauce and paired with tender penne, this dish offers surprising complexity and flavor with a minimum of effort. For the chicken, we opted for tenderloins, which required no prep and simply needed to be stirred into the sauce and pasta in the slow cooker at the outset of cooking. Adding chicken broth, rather than water, to the slow cooker to help cook the pasta ramped up the savory notes of the dish. As for the cream sauce, homemade sauces took too long to make and separated in the slow cooker, but store-bought Alfredo sauce kept things easy and provided plenty of rich flavor; plus, it didn’t taste raw when we added some at the end to freshen the flavor of our dish. Moisture released from the chicken as it cooked infused the sauce with more savory depth and ensured that it was the right consistency. For the spinach, we simply stirred in a few handfuls at the end so it would warm through and wilt. A little Parmesan cheese, sprinkled over the top, added more savory, salty tang. If you can’t find chicken tenderloins, you can substitute 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut crosswise into ½-inch-thick slices. Click here for more information on cooking pasta in the slow cooker and making a foil collar. See the sidebars that follow the recipe.

2½	cups chicken broth
8	ounces (2½ cups) penne
2	teaspoons olive oil
1	(15-ounce) jar Alfredo sauce
½	cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped coarse
	Salt and pepper
1	pound chicken tenderloins
4	ounces (4 cups) baby spinach
½	cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Line slow cooker with aluminum foil collar; spray with vegetable oil spray. Microwave broth in bowl until steaming, about 2 minutes. In separate bowl, microwave penne and oil at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until some pieces look toasted and blistered, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer hot pasta to prepared slow cooker and immediately stir in hot broth (pasta will sizzle). Stir in ½ cup Alfredo sauce, tomatoes, ½ teaspoon pepper, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Season chicken with salt and pepper; nestle into pasta. Cover and cook until pasta is tender, 2 to 3 hours on high.

2. Remove foil collar. Gently stir in remaining Alfredo sauce, adjusting sauce consistency with hot water as needed. Stir in spinach and let sit until spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.