Should have taken a picture

I was faced with a need to make something tasty, quick, and acceptable for last minute company. I had not been to the grocery store, at least, not to do more than pick up a couple eggs.

Chicken and noodles in a Florentine-esque sauce

Somewhere, I read that when something is labled "florentine" it is supposed to indicate that it contains spinach. Florence being known for its spinach, I guess. Likewise, in things named "vichysoisse" you ought to expect to find peas, which are supposedly abundant and/or especially special in the neighborhood of Vichy. Which makes me think that it is rather typically american that the one thing best known (to me at any rate) as Vichysoisse is a potato soup, with nary a pea in sight. But that is neither here nor there.

Again- chicken and noodles, etc.

4 frozen chicken tenders
salt, pepper, dash of olive oil

Set a large pot of salted water on to boil the noodles.

Heat a deep skillet with the oil and a sprinkle of salt in it to about medium. Put the frozen tenders in and sprinkle over a generous dash of pepper and a touch more salt. Cover. Meanwhile, assemble:

half a large onion, diced small
2 T tomato paste
1 and a half cups frozen chopped spinach
1 garlic clove
a bag of trader joe's plain papardelle

Flip the chicken tenders over after they brown a bit, and re-cover. When the other side has browned, they will probably be slightly raw inside. That's fine, just put them in a bowl and ignore them for a while. Put a little more oil and a sprinkle of salt in the pan, and throw in the onions. Stir them around, and if they don't sweat enough on their own to take up the chicken residue, add a half cup of water and then crush in the garlic. Stir every few minutes until the onions are caramelized, then add 2 cups of water and the tomato paste and spinach. Cook until the spinach is done, check to make sure it has enough salt, then slice up the chicken bits and return them to the pan to finish cooking. It'll probably only take a couple seconds. Remember to put any juices that may have drained out back into the sauce. Somewhere in there, the water will have come to a boil and you can drop in the noodles, but remember that it only takes about 4 minutes for those things to reach al dente.

Serve with grated cheese, and optional chopped olives.