Italian Chicken Skillet

From allrecipes.com
I took a few liberties with this recipe, based on what I had...

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cubed (I used 2 breasts)
2 cloves garlic, chopped, or to taste (I used 2 tsp. minced garlic)
1/2 cup red cooking wine (I used Ruby Port wine)
1 (28 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes (I used one 14.5oz can diced tomatoes)
8 ounces small seashell pasta (I used 8 oz penne pasta)
5 ounces fresh spinach, chopped (I used 8 oz chopped frozen spinach)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet with a lid over medium heat, and cook and stir the chicken and garlic until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, 5 to 8minutes. Pour the wine and diced tomatoes with their juice into the skillet, and bring to a boil over high heat while scraping any browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
2. Stir in the shell pasta, and return to a boil. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the shells have cooked through, but are still firm to the bite, about 10 minutes. Spread the spinach over the top of the pasta, cover, and simmer until the spinach leaves are cooked, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese evenly over the skillet, and simmer until the cheese has melted and the pasta is bubbling, about 5 minutes.

Try #1 - August 3, 2010
I was a little nervous with all the substitutions I made, but it turned out great! Super easy recipe. I followed the directions and cooked the pasta in the skillet, which I think made it soak up the flavorful juices from the wine and tomatoes really well. I added some Italian seasoning and salt to make up for the plain old diced tomatoes and the regular wine (as opposed to cooking wine which has added salt). And even though I used penne instead of shells, it cooked to firm in the 10 minutes. I didn't layer the spinach on top, I mixed it right in. I also added several leaves of chopped fresh basil. I will definitely make this again!