Chicken & Broccoli Pasta Dinner

"Clean" Chicken & Broccoli Pasta 

In college I worked at Ruby Tuesday as a waitress and one favorite dishes that I would often order after or midway thru shifts was chicken and broccoli pasta. The serving size could feed a family of four. It was loaded with alfredo sauce and enriched white pasta. It was the furthest thing from healthy. I found myself craving it though lately so I decided to take on the recipe and do a “clean” version of it myself. Below you will find the outcome. I won’t lie it was a tiny bit dry in comparison to the cheesy goodness I was craving but this worked and tasted great as the next days lunch for leftovers. I will definitely make it again!

Ingredients

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts

3 medium size cloves of garlic

1 large crown of fresh broccoli or 1 bag of frozen broccoli florets

Pepper

Sea Salt

Olive Oil

1 tablespoon of unsalted butter

1 box of 100% whole -wheat penne pasta

Parmesan cheese

Directions

Trim any fat from chicken and cut into bite size pieces – after cutting chicken place in a large skillet to sauté – skillet should have a small layer of olive oil in the bottom of the pan.

While cooking the chicken begin to boil water to cook pasta according to the box. Drain and set aside

After chicken begins to turn while from sautéing – press garlic and spread over chicken, season with 1 ½ teaspoon of black pepper

1 teaspoon of sea salt

Once chicken is cooked add in the broccoli florets – I added in a splash of olive oil as well as a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cover your skillet and let the broccoli soften and cook on medium heat.

After broccoli is cooked to your liking add in the penne pasta and mix everything together. I added in a tablespoon of unsalted butter then a bit more olive oil and seasoning. Once served, sprinkle with parmesan cheese. 

Enjoy! Serves 4