How did this become a food blog?

Five years ago, I was somewhere on the other side of the world engaging in adventure. Back then, I thought in five years I'd be teaching English abroad or vagabonding around Europe or volunteering with an international organization. Though I sometimes think about that life, I wouldn't change what I have now. I will always cherish my time spent circumnavigating the globe, being in a new place every week with some of the greatest friends I'll always have; it was exciting. But now I have someone who I can share my adventures and love with. I never thought I would be lucky enough to find the greatest man who is a caring and loving husband and my best friend that I can laugh and have fun with.

Anyways, together we have done a fair amount of traveling i.e. Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Italy, France, Greece, Turkey, Hawaii, and local places, but unfortunately I wasn't blogging at those times, so now that we have jobs and bills, we still travel, but just not as often as I cook. Thus the reason this has unintentionally turned into a food blog. I found another passion besides traveling! Don't get me wrong, we will continue to travel (Panama cruise at the end of the year!), but I've got something to keep me going between adventures. I've always loved food, but I never thought I'd enjoy cooking.

With that little digression, here is Tuesday's dinner: Chicken Florentine Artichoke Bake!

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:

* 8 oz bow tie pasta

* 1 small onion, chopped

* Olive oil

* 2 cloves garlic

* 2 eggs

* 1 1/4 cup milk

* 1 tsp Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute

* 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning

* 2 tsp crushed red pepper

* 2 cups chopped cooked chicken

* 8 oz Monterrey Jack cheese

* 14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained, halved and leafed

* 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained of excess water

* 8 oz jar of oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained

* 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

* 1/2 cup soft bread crumbs

* 1/2 tsp paprika

* 1 tbsp butter, melted

Directions:

~ Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. In medium skillet cook onions in olive oil for 5 minutes; add garlic and cook additional minute. Remove from heat and set aside.

~ In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, seasonings, and crushed red pepper. Stir in chicken, Monterrey Jack cheese, artichoke, spinach, tomatoes, half the Parmesan, cooked pasta, and onion. Mix well. Transfer to a 13x9x2-inch casserole dish.

~ Cover and bake 20 minutes. In a small bowl, combine other half of Parmesan, bread crumbs, paprika, and melted butter. Sprinkle mixture over entire pasta. Leave uncovered and bake 10 minutes until golden.

I stuck close to the original recipe but made a few changes. This was so yummy and made wonderful leftovers!