Monday, July 14, 2014

Chicken and Broccoli Penne


Ingredients:
Grapeseed or Olive Oil
1 bunch fresh broccoli or a few cups frozen broccoli
1 (12-16 oz.) bag penne
1 medium onion, minced
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2-1 cup all-purpose flour
3-4 cups coconut milk (This made this dairy free until I added the mozzarella.  This recipe is flavorful enough without the cheese added if you need dairy free.  We added the cheese to ours but left one bowl without for our daughter who needs dairy free.  I tried it both ways and loved it both ways.)
Salt
Pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
Mozzarella cheese, shredded (I used a small block but you can add or omit cheese according to taste and need.)
Tomatoes (I used a couple of handfuls of grape tomatoes and chopped them up but you can use any tomato chopped up.)

Directions:
Use some of the oil to grease a 9x13 inch baking dish and set aside.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a large pot, bring the water for the pasta and broccoli to a boil.  Stir in some salt and the broccoli.  This part is going to be up to personal taste but we like our broccoli very soft so I cooked until the broccoli was tender.  If you want a little bite in your broccoli, you will want to pull it back out of the water pretty quickly.  Remove the broccoli with a slotted spoon, tossing it into the greased baking dish and add the pasta and a little more salt to the boiling water.  Drain the pasta and toss it with the broccoli in the baking dish.

While the pasta is cooking, in a skillet, add some oil and start browning the chicken.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper or any other seasoning you prefer.  We like the herb and garlic Mrs. Dash.  When the chicken is done, toss it in with the penne and broccoli.  During this time is also when you should chop the tomatoes.

Rinse and wipe out the large pot to make the sauce.  Add some more oil to the pot and add the onion and garlic until it starts to brown.  Add a few tablespoons of the flour and whisk.  Add the coconut milk (or other milk if you prefer) stirring constantly.  Add in the thyme and salt and pepper.  Add the flour a little at a time until the sauce is thick and creamy.  Taste regularly to add more salt and pepper.  
Toss all ingredients together in the baking dish. Put the dish in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes. If you don't need dairy free, feel free to add the cheese before putting the dish in the oven. I divided the cheese into bowls so I could store it all in separate bowls for leftovers so we had some dairy free and some cheesy. This dish and it's leftovers went fast so I didn't get a picture. But we will definitely be making this again so I will add a picture later.

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