Spinach, Artichoke Pasta

I have been searching Pintrest for new recipes and found this spinach, artichoke pasta recipe.  Because we love spinach and artichoke dip, I thought I would give it a try and see how it would work for our family.

First, I gathered the ingredients.  I used fresh chopped baby spinach instead of frozen and doubled the recipe.  I tend to double recipes because of our family size but also because if I am going to use the time and energy to cook, I would like it to last for more than one meal.  At least that is the goal:)

Here is a picture of most of the ingredients.

1 12-oz box pasta (I used bowties)
1 tsp butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 8 oz package reduced fat cream cheese
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 14 oz can artichoke hearts (packed in water), drained and chopped
10 oz chopped, frozen spinach, thawed, with as much excess water squeezed out as possible
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
Additional Parmesan for serving


First, I sauteed the garlic in butter and then melted the cream cheese (not pictured above) in the mixture.

When it was smooth I added the milk, sour cream, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and crushed peppers and simmered until smooth again.

Next I chopped the spinach and artichokes and added them along with a little Parmesan cheese.

I poured the mixture over cooked bowtie pasta and sprinkled a little more Parmesan over the top.

Peter and I love the dish, although it is very rich, a few of the kids liked it, and only one refused to eat it.  But, at three years old, I don't think that I would have eaten this either:)

The next day, we had the left overs as a side with grilled chicken...yum!