Chicken Pasta

Easy Chicken Pasta

I forgot to take pictures of our supper last night, but it’s a great, fast dish and I don’t want to forget to tell you about it. Bryan made this for me the night we got engaged and every year around this time, the time we got engaged, I get hungry for it.

Food is very nostalgic for me. Once a year I splurge and buy a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I try to eat oatmeal or Fiber One cereals so Cinnamon Toast Crunch is quite a treat! I love it because when I was a kid my Grandma and I would eat this cereal together when I went to her house. I cannot see Cinnamon Toast Crunch without thinking about my Grandma.

This chicken pasta is the same. Every time I make it I remember the night we got engaged, how excited we were, and how we spend the most of the remaining weekend on the phone sharing our excitement. Just last night we re-lived some of those fun memories.

Chicken Pasta

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 can tomato soup

1 soup can milk

1 tsp basil

2 c. Penne pasta

Brown the chicken breasts in a pan. Remove the chicken and place the soup, milk, and basil in the pan. Combine with a whisk and simmer on low. Add the cooked chicken to the mixture once the soup and milk mixture is combined. Meanwhile, cook pasta per package directions.

Serve the pasta and tomato sauce on a bed of pasta. Serve with corn or a side salad.

I love the peanut butter and soy sauce combination. I eat it on pork, chicken, vegetables, and quinoa.

Maybe I need an intervention? Nahhh, I need to share this recipe! This nutritious dish is also d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s!

I do not know where I found the recipe, but I modified it a bit (of course) and do not feel as guilty as I should when I gobble up a huge plate because it is full of protein and vegetables!

The recipe makes enough to feed 6 people so I often times cut it down to feed two (with leftovers for lunch, of course!)

I use Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta. I love that it has protein, dietary fiber, and more. Actually, I compared the nutrition label to quinoa and found this pasta to be the same or better than quinoa. (Which naturally makes me feel like I can eat pasta for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!)

I do realize that I should not eat pasta every day or for every meal, but I may allow myself to indulge more than I have recently. J

Once we finally got home from the gym we fired up the grill and put the chicken breast on to cook.  The original recipe called for a rotisserie chicken skinned and shredded so you could do that too if you were in a pinch. I have not bought a rotisserie chicken because they are expensive and do not save time as in this dish you can multi-task by chopping veggies and cooking pasta while the chicken is cooking. In addition, I get to add my own seasonings and control the quality of the ingredients, salt, and what not when I do it myself.

(Yes, I am one of those people who want to do things myself and find great satisfaction in doing so. I realize that I am a special breed so I try to give the rest of the world a reasonable option.)

While the chicken is cooking, cook the spaghetti per package directions and drain.

I also chop up/prepare all the veggies. You can see that I used more vegetables than the recipe called for, but I am really trying to get more vegetables into our diet and this was an easy and tasty way to do just that! (To me this is another benefit of making food myself, I get to put in the amount of ingredients I want.)

Then, I mixed up the peanut butter sauce.

And added the sauce to the noodles.

I placed the saucy noodles in a serving bowl

And topped with the chicken and veggies and nuts

Then, I inhaled enjoyed my wonderful dish!

Chicken Satay Noodle Salad

1 lb whole wheat spaghetti

½ cup peanut butter, softened                                                                 

2 tablespoons honey

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ c. lime juice

1 tsp. red pepper flakes, chopped

1 garlic clove, grated

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cups cooked chicken**                                             

1 cup packed fresh spinach

¼ cup shredded carrots

4 scallions, thinly sliced on an angle                                                         

¼ cup chopped peanuts

Cook pasta, drain, rinse and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, in a large bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, honey, and ¼ cup warm water. Whisk in the soy sauce, lime juice, red pepper flakes and garlic. Pour in the oil in a steady stream, whisking to combine. Add the reserved noodles and toss to coat.

Place the noodles in 4 shallow bowls and top with the chicken, spinach, carrots, scallions, and peanuts.

** You can use pulled pork, pork tenderloin, or pork chops in this dish as well!!