An Adventure in Baked Pasta

I found this post, created last March! I don't know why it was still a draft, but since I've been so lazy about posting new stuff I'll just post old stuff:

Last night for dinner I decided to make the Baked Pasta with Spinach, Lemon & Cheese recipe I found in my Cooking Light magazine. I have to say that, overall, I was disappointed. (Although both my mom and boyfriend ate enough to show no disappointment at all.)

I really didn't stray from the recipe... I mean, I "eyeballed" everything -- there were no measuring cups involved. This is the first dish I've tried from the magazine and I felt like it was really lacking something -- the "oomf" factor, if you will. It looked delicious, but it ended up being kind of bland. If I were to do it again, I would definitely add more black pepper and salt. (I probably didn't use enough anyway because my pepper grinder frustrates me too much.)

Changes for Next Time:

• More black pepper.
• Maybe sun-dried tomatoes mixed right in.
• Definitely more cheese, or an extra type would be nice too. Asiago would probably be great mixed in with the parmesan.
• Basil. Lemon & basil, right? (I did add some fresh chopped basil on top after it was all cooked.)
• More spinach -- at least a bag and a half, not just one. 
• Replacing the wine with chicken broth would probably be a good idea too. 
• Maybe whole wheat pasta, to give some more depth.

I think with some of those changes, or at least more cheese, this dish would be much better. I served it with thin chicken breasts breaded with panko bread crumbs (mixed with a little salt, garlic powder & grated cheese) and baked in the oven. They were good, but grilled chicken would have been even better... but... it is still winter and I don't have a grill.