Skip to main content

Easy Penne with Chicken & Broccoli

I pretty much always have the ingredients to whip up a pasta dish like this for the fam.  It's something I know everyone will eat without complaining or picking things out.   It's a great way to use up things in the fridge, too.  Here's the basic recipe - use what you have on hand and tweak as you like.

Easy Penne with Chicken & Broccoli
Serves 4-6

  • 1 box (8 oz.) penne or your favorite pasta noodles
  • 1 rotisserie chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces, or 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or 1 whole chicken, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 2-3 crowns of broccoli (asparagus is good, too), cut into spears
  • 1 c. chicken broth (I use Swanson Natural Goodness)
  • 1/2 c. Asiago cheese, grated
  • 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1/4 c. (ish) Half & Half (I just poured a little - may have been a little more)
  • 1/2 container (ish) of grape tomatoes, halved (or use 2 Romas, seeded & diced)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 biggie)
  • 1/2 small onion, diced
  • salt & pepper to taste

Prep your pasta.  You can add the broccoli to your pasta water at the end, and cook it with the noodles, or steam it on the side, or whatever you prefer.  In a large skillet over medium heat, cook your onion in in a little evoo.  Add garlic, cook until fragrant.  Stir in cheese and half & half.  Add chicken, broccoli. tomatoes and pasta noodles.  Stir to combine.  Season with salt & pepper.   Serve with extra Asiago cheese if you like.
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Layered Mexican Trifle Salad

So this is awesome.  It's a lot of work, but it is awesome.  Feeds a crowd, looks cool, tastes great.  What more can you ask for?  I first had this at a party, and then tracked down the recipe - I believe it was originally from Pampered Chef.  You can mix it up, but I really like this combo.  It's easy to double or whatever is needed, based on the serving dish.  The one pictured was MASSIVE, and was basically a triple batch - so much work, and at the last minute! Layered Mexican Trifle Salad I ngredients: Beans: drain, rinse and mix together 1 15 oz. can pinto beans and 1 15 oz. can black beans 1 15 oz. can whole kernel corn, drained (I've also used fresh) 1 large tomato, diced (I usually use several Roma tomatoes) 2 green bell peppers, diced 3 ripe avocadoes, diced and mashed with the juice of 1 lime and salt and pepper to taste 1 large onion, diced (red or white) 2 cups cooked chicken, diced or shredded 2 cups cheddar or...
Read more

Skillet Chicken, Broccoli, Ziti & Asiago Cheese

We ALL really love this recipe. This is based on a recipe from the good people at Cooks Illustrated - I am grateful to them for getting my kids to happily eat sundried tomatoes and broccoli!  I've also made this in a huge batch and served it family-style for a dinner party (and got to use my giant Pampered Chef Simple Additions square pasta bowl (it's really big), and it was AWESOME).  If people could have licked the bowl clean, they might have - there was NOTHING left. Try this, and love it: Chicken, Broccoli, Penne and Asiago Cheese  Skillet 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch squares 2 tbsp. vegetable oil (or olive oil - just don't heat that to smoking) 1 medium onion, minced (about 1 cup) 3 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tbsp.) 1/4 tsp. dried oregano 1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes 8 oz. ziti or penne (2 /12 cups) 3 c. water 2 c. low-sodium chicken broth 3-4 c. broccoli florets 1/4 c. sun-dried tomatoes in oil, rinsed and chop...
Read more

Another Take on Comfort Food

Sometimes there's nothing you can do but cook. I've had the displeasure of seeing 2 young moms in our school community recieve cancer diagnoses in the last 18 months.  If you're like me, when someone you know is hurting, you want to help, but lots of times, there's not much you can do. If you can cook, you can take away some of the stress of getting the family fed and bring a meal or two. In fact, even if you can't cook, you can pick up a meal at a restaurant or a bag of groceries, or even a gift card for a local restaurant. I think it comes naturally to some - the church and school communities I grew up in always loved with food - church potlucks, school spaghetti dinners, and of course lots of meals for people who needed them.  But not everyone has done this before, so it might be overwhelming.  As in my "feeding a crowd" blurb, there are a few things to keep in mind.   Don't try to impress - don't try new recipes.  Find out if you'r...
Read more