CHICKEN BROCCOLI ALFREDO PASTA
So easy, so
creamy and so easy to prepare in 30 minutes, from start to finish - perfect for
busy weekday nights!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 10 ounces broccoli
- 8 ounces penne pasta (for gluten free, use gluten-free brown rice penne)
- 1 cup milk
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1.5 lb chicken breast (1 large chicken breast)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/4 cups Parmesan cheese, or Mozzarella cheese, or Monterey Jack cheese shredded
Instructions
First, Cook
broccoli in boiling water for 5 minutes, drain well. Cut into small florets.
Then, Cook
pasta al dente, drain.
In a large
skillet heat olive oil and butter on medium-high heat (until hot but not
smoking) and saute chicken breast (seasoned generously with salt and pepper on
both sides) for about 5 minutes on each side. Remove the skillet from heat,
cover with the lid, and let the chicken rest, off heat, covered, until the
chicken is no longer pink in the center and is completely cooked through.
Remove chicken from the pan. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces.
Add minced
garlic to the same skillet and cook it in chicken juices and oil remaining in
the pan, scraping up the chicken bits from the bottom of the pan, on medium
heat for about 30 seconds until garlic is fragrant, making sure to avoid
burning. Add cooked and sliced broccoli and mix in with garlic. Remove from the
pan.
To make the
creamy sauce, in the same skillet heat up 1 cup of heavy cream until it boils.
Immediately add the cheese and stir until melted and creamy. Reduce heat to
medium-low, and slowly, in small portions, add milk, constantly stirring,
simmering, until a creamy consistency is reached.
Add cooked
pasta to the creamy sauce, then add broccoli. Taste and season with salt and
pepper. Top with sliced, cooked chicken.
Happy
Cooking Time.
