Creamy Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli

 

Of all the dishes I made for a recent House Party featuring Philadelphia Cooking Crème, this was the least favorite.

 

That said, I also had it ready about 40 minutes too early, and it was nearly impossible to serve by the time the guests arrived. Heh. Oops!

 

This is a really simple take on something I prepare quite often for my family.

 

Creamy Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli

 

1 pound bowtie, or other shaped, pasta

3 cups broccoli florets, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced or diced, and cooked in a little olive oil

1 tub Italian Philadelphia Cooking Crème

Milk (optional)

 

Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook pasta according to directions. Three minutes before the pasta is scheduled to finish cooking, add your broccoli to the pasta water and finish cooking. Drain the pasta and broccoli, reserving about 1 cup of the cooking water.

 

Return your pasta, broccoli and chicken to your pot and stir in Cooking Crème. If needed, stir in enough pasta water (or milk) to loosen up the sauce.

 

PS – This recipe was made with Philadelphia Cooking Crème, which was given to me free of charge for review purposes. The coupons came in a box full of “swag” for me and my guests, including a new skillet, and other kitchen wares and coupons. I was not otherwise compensated.

LoLo Coconut Pumpkin Masala Chicken

I’m not really sure what to call this. I don’t understand what the individual words mean, but as I understand it “tikka” means “pieces” and “masala” is…the gravy the Brittish added to Chicken Tikka because they like gravy! Heh. Either way, this is oh-so-tasty. To an American palate, this would be Chicken Coconut Pumpkin Tikka Masala…or something like that. Whatever. (Oh, and the pumpkin? It was a shot in the dark to get more veggies into my fruit n’ bread ONLY kid. It was a success!)

Yummy!

Aunt LoLo’s “Secret Ingredient” Chicken Coconut Tikka Masala

Ingredients:

2 split chicken breasts (bone in, skin on) (You can substitute any chicken here. If your chicken is already cooked, add it at the end.)

1 tbsp. oil

1 medium onion

1 tbs. minced garlic

1 tsp. tikka masala paste

1 can (6 oz) tomato paste

2 cups pureed pumpkin (yes, really – it takes on an awesome earthy quality and really rounds out the sauce! Besides- SNEAKY VEG. Yes, please.)

1/2 cup water

1 tsp. chicken base

1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk

 

In a dutch oven, heat up your oil and throw in your diced onion and minced garlic. Cook until the onions are translucent, about five minutes. Add tikka masala paste, tomato paste, pumpkin, water, chicken base, and a few scoops of the thick stuff on the top of the can of coconut milk. (Don’t shake it before you open the can! Coconut milk naturally separates into the cream, and the water.) Stir to combine.

Add your chicken, splash the sauce over it to coat, cover the pan, and let simmer for about 15-20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

When the chicken is cooked, carefully remove it from the sauce, remove and discard the skin, and then use a fork to tear the rest of the chicken into pieces. Discard the bones, and return the cooked meat to the pot. Add the rest of the coconut milk, stir to combine, and allow to thicken over low heat. Season to taste with more tikka masala paste and chicken base or salt. A spoonful of sugar is nice as well. (I was making this for kids, so I went pretty light on the tikka masala paste!)

Serve with rice spiced with a pinch of cinnamon, a half pinch of cloves and a teaspoon of chicken base mixed in before cooking.

Roast Chicken

I might be the only one left who'd never roasted a chicken...but there you have it. I used a recipe from Serious Eats, which they shared from one of Jamie Oliver's cookbooks. I chose the recipe, over others available, because it was dead simple. Seriously.

Here's my adaptation.

Ingredients:
1 3 1/2 pound -4 pound chicken
1/4 cup salt
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
2 tsp. seasoning herb rub (I used Williams-Sonoma brand)
Olive oil
2 carrots
4 potatoes
2 onions

1. Preheat your oven to 475. Wash your vegetables well, and chop them into 2" bits. (Except the onions. Just peel and quarter those.) Put your veg in a large bowl, toss with olive oil and a pinch of salt, and spread on the bottom of a roasting pan. Mix your spices in a small bowl and set aside.

2. Remove all the giblets from inside your bird. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Glug on a bit of olive oil and rub your bird all over. Then, start grabbing pinches of your salt rub and massage it into your bird, inside and out. Focus on the thighs and breast. When your bird is nice and salty, set it right on top of your veg. (Next time, I'm going to try using my rack. I'm hoping to get the Crisp to extend further around the bird. Mmmm.)

3. Put your bird in the oven and immediately lower the temperature to 400. Set your timer for 1 hour and 20 minutes and walk away. Check it halfway through. Baste the bird, and add a splash of water to the pan if the veg look dry. At the end of your time, take the bird's temperature - it should measure about 170 F. Remove your pan from the oven and let the bird rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes. (During that time, the bird will finish cooking, and should end up at 180F.)

4. When the bird is done resting, carve it up and serve! Remove the veg to a bowl, the chicken in another bowl. Serve a nice green salad and some soft french bread on the side. Delicious!