Last night I was thinking to myself “I want a nice, healthy, fresh dinner tomorrow.” Immediately my mind started running different options – do I want a fresh salad or a simple pasta dish. After roughly 12 hours with the topic running through my mind, I decided pasta was the way to go. I take my dinner choices seriously!
This dish is based, in part, on the recipe over at My Tasty Treasures. I made a few changes based on what seemed right for me and then I had a go.
What you’ll need:
- 3 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
- 1 Head of Broccoli
- 1 Red Bell Pepper
- 1 Yellow Squash
- 3 cloves of Garlic
- 2 cups of Chicken Stock
- 2 tsp of Basil
- 2 tsp of Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp of Butter
- ½ tsp of Black Pepper
- ½ tsp of Salt
- Shredded Asiago Cheese
- Pasta (cooked and ready – remember to boil in saltwater!)
Chicken Breast, Red Peppers, Yellow Squash, Campanelle Pasta
Food Prep
Cut your Chicken Into thumb sized cuts, set aside
Chop your Broccoli into Florets
Slice your squash into half dollar chips
Peel and dice your Garlic
Cooking
1) Place your vegtabiles into a pan with ½ inch of water, steam on medium-high heat for 5 mins, set aside (or cook while doing next part)
2) Place olive oil and garlic into large pan, cook until garlic is brown
3) Add chicken stock and chicken cuts – cook over medium-high heat until the chicken is almost cooked
4) Add Butter, Basil, Salt and Pepper – stir
5) Add Pasta and Vegetables and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the chicken reaches the desired degree of cooking
Finished and ready to go!
I was hoping for a quick and easy dish, and I found it. Total prep and cook time is roughly 25 minutes and is not difficult at all. More importantly, and I very well may be biased, this is one of the freshed dishes I’ve had in a long time. With a few tweaks this dish could very easily be of restaurant quality. It is truly that good. The Red Peppers hold the taste of the chicken stock ever so slightly, the asiago adds a bit a sharpness and the chicken is juicy.
Really, as long as you do not overcook the chicken I truly believe you will enjoy this dish!
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#1 by Bob - April 14th, 2009 at 19:56
That looks wicked good. I love light pasta dishes, they are sometimes just exactly what you want. I bet a little lemon in there would be good too.
#2 by Van Santos - April 14th, 2009 at 19:59
LOL! Yes, it was outstanding. It’s odd you say lemon would be a good addition as I had toyed with the idea of throwing some lemon zest in but I was unsure how everything would play out. When I make this next time, I plan on giving that a spin.
Great minds, huh?!?
#3 by Wandering Coyote - April 14th, 2009 at 20:23
Doesn’t Donna-FFW have great recipes? This looks really good. Is that yellow zucchini you used?
#4 by JT - April 14th, 2009 at 20:39
Van,
Since you seem to cook a lot of pasta I’ll have to show you the local fresh pasta I use, it is 100X better than the dry stuff. They sell it a couple doors down from where we work. Here is an article about it.
http://chicago.timeout.com/articles/restaurants-bars/50721/the-pasta-puttana
#5 by Van - April 14th, 2009 at 20:41
Yes, she does! There are a number of things I want to try/modify on her site. Some really good stuff and I haven’t even gone back in her archives.
That is Summer Squash (Yellow Squash) that I used. I had actually thought about using zucchini but wanted a little more color since the Broccoli was in there. Also, sometimes zucchini is bitter to me if I steam it.
#6 by Van - April 14th, 2009 at 20:45
We need to check that out!
But the nut that I am, I’ve actually decided that I want to also give making my own a try. Coming from a family that owned a deli for over 50 years, I’ve heard the stories of how bad it can be. Not going to stop me!
#7 by giannakali - April 14th, 2009 at 21:53
very yummy looking…makes me think of a simplified primavera with chicken added
…and yeah, go for the fresh pasta it’s way better…we used to make it at home growing up…
unfortunately I’ve discovered I have a wheat sensitivity and I’ve found no other fresh pasta anywhere so I’m stuck with brown rice and quinoa pasta pre-made!!
#8 by JT - April 14th, 2009 at 22:25
Making your own is fun, but like cleaning squid, something you only need to do once.
#9 by giannakali - April 14th, 2009 at 22:30
hmmm…I don’t think my father got the once only message….we were committed to slave labor making all sorts of stuff including home made tortellini…which I’m sorry but there is no comparison anywhere in the world so far!! some things are better made at home!!
#10 by Van - April 14th, 2009 at 23:00
It kinda is a simplified primavera, I guess. I didn’t put much thought into it, but the W said the same thing. Now if there was a way to make pasta that you would be able to eat, then we’d be set.
#11 by Van - April 14th, 2009 at 23:06
Yea, there are plenty of things I seem to do over and over… You know that whole “lean by doing” thing? It usually takes me a number of times to learn by doing in order to understand. As I was making my bad batch of butter cream frosting this past week I was thinking “I’ll never do this again” but, next think you know, I’m running ideas through my head on what to do.
@gianna
Home made tortellini are THE best home made foods I’ve had. Now I wonder what other things you’ve made….
#12 by JT - April 14th, 2009 at 23:07
I agree that homemade is better, just somebody else’s home. I am lucky enough to live near people who make homemade fresh pasta once a week and sell it to me. I’ll admit my outsourcing only works for your basic pasta varieties, is you want something a little different than the norm (pasta made with nothing but semolina and farm fresh egg yolks, yum) then it pays to know how to make your own.
#13 by Donna - April 15th, 2009 at 08:14
Thank you so very much for the shout out, for trying my recipe, and for the kind words. I love your adaptations, they sound delicious. I am glad it led me to your blog .. I like it here:)
#14 by Van Santos - April 15th, 2009 at 08:52
Thanks for stopping in, Donna! Your base dish was a great place to start, and I was highly impressed with the way everything turned out. It seemed to be flavored just perfectly. I hope you do stick around as you have a lot of excellent recipes and thoughts.