Chicken and Spinach Casserole

Another inspiration from Martha.

But instead of using a larger casserole dish, I split the recipe between 4 six-ounce and 2 four-ounce ramekins.  Kids love to eat out of kid-sized serving dishes!

(But it will also work perfectly in a 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish.)

Probably to your highest level of annoyance, I love to photograph each step in the preparation process.  But I didn't get started on preparing this dish until late in the afternoon when the winter light was beginning to fade.  Therefore, please excuse the overabundance of photos of the finished product; I toted the tray out to the snowy deck to photograph it in the presence of Mr. Sniffer (who resides there in his warm and cozy hutch).  

Chicken and Spinach Casserole
Serves 4-6

2 cups torn bread (I used about 3 thick slices of a crusty French bread)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 cups packed flat-leaf spinach, washed
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup white wine
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken (I baked 6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs and then sent them through the grater of my food processor for super-fine shred)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine bread with 1 tablespoon oil; season with salt. Set aside. In a medium pot, heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil over medium-high. Add spinach; season with salt. Cook, stirring, until wilted, 2 minutes. Transfer to a colander, let cool, then squeeze out water. Coarsely chop.

Wipe pot clean and heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil over medium. Add onion, garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 8 minutes.

Add wine to pot and cook until almost evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Gradually whisk in half-and-half. Add lemon juice and bring mixture to a boil over high

Remove from heat and stir in chopped spinach and chicken; season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish* and top with bread pieces. Bake until bread is golden brown and mixture is bubbling, 10 to 12 minutes.

*Or use the ramekins like I did. Reduce baking time to 8-10 minutes.

 Recipe from here.