Stovetop Chicken Broccoli Parmesan Pasta

As this quarantine continues, I have to ditch my regular rotation of recipes and utilize whatever is left in the fridge. Yesterday I was trying to figure out how to use the ground chicken I had along with the broccoli that didn’t have much life left. I wasn’t feeling an Asian chicken and broccoli dish, so I decided to do a pasta dish! With a little inspiration from a Woman’s Day recipe I found, we came up with this! And it was a hit!

Ingredients

1 pound pasta (I used medium shells)

1 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb ground chicken (can use ground chicken breast for a lighter take)

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (more to taste for more heat)

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup Pinot Grigio (or some other dry white wine)

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 lb broccoli crowns, chopped finely

2 tsp lemon juice

1 cup finely grated Parmesan

2 tbsp butter

1 cup reserved pasta water (to thicken sauce at the end)

Directions

  1. In a separate pot, cook pasta according to their pasta directions. Add some salt to the boiling water to add some more flavor (we will be reserving one cup of this liquid before we drain the pasta!).
  2. Heat olive oil in a high sided skillet over medium heat and add in garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Be careful not to burn!
  3. Add in ground chicken and red pepper flakes to the pan with the garlic. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Break up the chicken into small pieces as it browns in the pan.
  4. Once chicken is fully cooked (no more pink!), add in the white wine and let it simmer for about 2 minutes. It will evaporate a bit of the wine as it cooks.
  5. Add in the chopped broccoli and the chicken broth. Let it simmer and cook the broccoli for about 5-6 minutes.
  6. Add in the lemon juice, parmesan cheese, and a little more salt and pepper.
  7. Remove from heat. Add in butter and reserved pasta water to thicken the sauce.
  8. Toss your pasta into the chicken and broccoli sauce. Make sure it is fully covered. If you need more flavor, add more parmesan cheese, lemon juice, butter, red pepper flakes, or PEPPER! ( I love adding a bunch of pepper at the end!).
  9. Serve and enjoy!
Saute the garlic!
Add in chicken and red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
After you simmer in the white wine (for about 2 minutes), add in the broccoli and chicken broth.
Reserve one cup of that pasta water goodness!
Now we have added in cheese, lemon juice, and salt and pepper, remove from heat and add in the butter and reserved pasta water.
Add in pasta and serve!
Delicious!