One Dish Chicken Penne Alfredo

 

The other night I was posed with an awkward dinnertime debacle. I wasn’t sure what to make.  We’ve all been there before, right? I did the mandatory tour through the pantry to see what might jump out at me, but no luck. I already had my protein, chicken, and had sliced it up with something else in mind. My taste buds were calling out for alfredo sauce though, and ideas began to develop.

 

 

I remembered an Alfredo Shell recipe I’d found (need to get that in here for posterity), and the sauce for it was amazing! It was creamy and flavorful, flexible and the best part…leftovers were still as tasty as the original meal! Oh yeah!

 

 

I decided to make this into a casserole with mini penne (my favorite tube pasta) and serve it simply with broccoli and a salad. Easy Peasy! You could really use any kind of pasta; rigatoni, gemelli, medium shells, etc. I found the sauce recipe and made a couple tweaks to it so it would work with my ingredients. I admit, it takes a pot and a pan, but it’s one dish for serving.

 

 

When I served this to the family, they ate it up! Everybody cleaned their plates, even my picky eaters. This was a winner all around. The best part is that the leftovers have provided lunch for me and my son twice now! That’s a win too. The shells are good, and everyone loves those too, but when I’m looking for a quick meal that doesn’t make a lot of dishes and can be on the table quickly, this is my new go-to.

 

One Dish Chicken Penne Alfredo

 

1 lb chicken, cut into thin slices

1 Tbs garlic salt

1 tsp pepper

2 Tbs EVOO

2 c pasta, uncooked

3 Tbs butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 c heavy cream

1 ¼ c milk (2% or whole)
2/3 c grated parmesan cheese

½  c shredded mozzarella cheese

2 large egg yolks, beaten

½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

 Salt and pepper to taste

 

 

Cook the pasta according to the package instructions, set aside. In a large saute pan, heat the oil over a med-hi burner. While it heats up, sprinkle the garlic salt and pepper over the chicken. Just before it begins to smoke, place the chicken in the pan. Don’t touch it for a few minutes to get a good sear on one side of the chicken. Start stirring the chicken to cook all sides. Turn down the heat and prepare the sauce.

In the pot you cooked the noodles in, melt the butter and add the garlic, heavy cream, and milk. Bring to a simmer. Beat the egg yolks in a small bowl or measuring cup. Add a spoonful of the hot milk mix to the eggs and stir them in. This is tempering the eggs. Too much heat and it will cook the eggs. Do this several times and then slowly pour the egg mix into the milk mix while stirring. Remove from the heat and pour it into the saute pan with the chicken. Add the mozzarella and mix until smooth. Add the pasta noodles and stir together. Finally, add the parmesan cheese and give it a final stir before serving.

 

*The sauce part of this recipe came from here, with some minor changes.