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Recipe: Chicken and broccoli penne

I sometimes take a gamble and try out a recipe on the back of the box. I came out on top a few weeks ago when I tried this recipe for chicken and broccoli penne on the back of a box of Mueller's 100 percent whole grain pasta.

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Chicken and broccoli penne
By
Sarah Lindenfeld Hall
, Go Ask Mom editor

I sometimes take a gamble and try out a recipe on the back of a box or canned good. I came out on top a few weeks ago when I tried this recipe for chicken and broccoli penne on the back of a box of Mueller's 100 percent whole grain pasta.

That's not to say that I didn't make a few adjustments. But it turned out an easy meal that had my husband and older daughter going back for seconds.

Chicken and Broccoli Penne

Adapted from the box of a Mueller's pasta box. I made some changes.

Ingredients

One 13.25 ounce box of pasta. It would work with a little more or a little less.
1 pound broccoli florets, chopped
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
1/4 cup olive oil
5 cloves of chopped garlic
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Salt and crushed red pepper flakes to taste

Bring your water to a boil in a large pot and salt it. The original recipe calls for adding 2 tablespoons of salt to 6 quarts of water. I added one tablespoon. Add the pasta and set the time for it to cook for about two minutes less than the box calls for. So if the box says to cook the pasta for 10 minutes, cook it for 8 minutes. Add the chopped broccoli to the same pot when you have about five minutes left on the pasta. You don't want the broccoli to get mushy.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet and add the chicken, garlic, salt and red pepper flakes. Saute until the chicken is browned and cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan.

Once the pasta is ready (less about two minutes), spoon the pasta and broccoli into the skillet that you cooked the chicken in. Pour in about a cup of the pasta cooking water to the skillet and let it simmer for another couple of minutes until the pasta is fully cooked.

In a bowl, toss the chicken, pasta and broccoli together. Mix in the Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

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