Spinach Artichoke Pasta

(I need to get new bowls -- so my food "pops" more...)

I'm telling ya... I have a serious Pinterest addiction...  And mostly in the food area. 

Every pay period, when I make my menu list for the following two weeks, I generally like to choose a recipe or two from my "to try" pins...  I'm supposed to be working my way through a binder of collected print recipes too...  But that binder got put out of sight...  And now it's mostly out of mind.

So this was a recipe I found a while back and decided to try, since I had a large majority of the ingredients :) (that's always a good reason!).  I happen to love spinach artichoke dip, so I thought this might be a fun and delicious recipe to try. In fact, this recipe appealed to my tastes so much (visually and taste-ily) that I actually pinned it twice.  This is a Pioneer Woman recipe.  I've seen her stuff a lot, so I'm assuming she may just be a house-hold name ;).

I followed the recipe, with the exception of the crushed red pepper flakes.  I try not to give my munchkin too much heat in her young age.  I did still include the cayenne, though.  I halved the recipe, so here is what I did:

3 Tablespoons Butter
2 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced
1 bags Baby Spinach
1 cans Artichoke Hearts, Drained And Halved
1 1/2 Tablespoons Flour
1 1/2 cups Whole Milk
1/8 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
Salt And Pepper, to taste
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 cup Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated
1/2 cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth (less Or More)
1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni, Cooked Until Al Dente
1/4 cup Seasoned Panko Breadcrumbs
Crushed Red Pepper, To Taste (optional -- I opted out)

Melt 1 tablespoons butter in a large pot or skillet. Add garlic and throw in the spinach. Stir it around until it's wilted, about 1 minute. Remove spinach from heat and set aside.

Add 1 tablespoons butter to the same pot and raise the heat to high. Throw in the halved artichokes and stir it around until they get a little color, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the artichokes from the pot and set them aside.
Reduce the heat to low. Add 1 tablespoons butter to the pot. When melted, sprinkle in flour and whisk until it's combined. Pour in milk and whisk to combine. Let it cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until starting to thicken. Add Parmesan, Monterey Jack, salt and pepper, and cayenne pepper. Stir to melt, and if it's overly thick, splash in chicken broth.

Add artichokes and pasta, tossing gently to combine. Gently fold in spinach, then pour the pasta into a serving bowl. Sprinkle the top with crushed red pepper flakes and plenty of Panko breadcrumbs for crunch.
Serve immediately!

Personal Notes:  I used unseasoned Panko, because that's what I had.  I also didn't feel the need to use chicken broth, so I didn't.  I am now realizing I wilted my spinach down too much and probably didn't cook my artichokes long enough...  Her finished product looks way better than mine.

Verdict:  It was good.  Not as stellar as I'd hoped, but still good.  The munchkin loved it -- except the artichokes.  I think some bacon could actually really add some extra depth to this dish (not that I usually have any bacon to include).  I might make it again one day, but it wasn't so awesome that I'd consider it a favorite.  Also, with the ingredients being what they are, it's not exactly the most budget-friendly meal, even though it's meatless.