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Go-To Chicken Pasta

What makes a recipe one you come back to again and again? For me, it’s important that my people want to eat it again and again. And happily. No complaints! It needs to be delicious, flexible and convenient. I should be able to change it up on whim or necessity, depending on what vegetables are in the house. Sometimes it’s the celery starting to look a little weak around the knees and I have no broccoli. It’s nice to be able to listen to what’s calling out to you from inside your fridge and do something about it!

My Go-To Chicken Pasta has come to the rescue numerous times. If I find unexpected guests in the house around dinner time or at lunch on the weekend, this is the meal they are going to get. It’s made of things you almost always have on hand and, wait for it… it’s a one pot meal because you cook your vegetables and meat in the same water as your pasta! That’s as go-to as it’s going to get!! Here is a recipe you can make your own, depending on vegetables at the market or in your fridge. The vegetable that takes the longest to cook should go in the post first.

It’s super easy to have GoodHeart Chicken on hand in your refrigerator, hopefully you have some fresh vegetables, there’s always some shape of pasta in the cupboard, go back to the fridge for the mayo, and shredded parmesan cheese is one of those nice hard cheeses that lasts and lasts.

An important note which will make everything so much easier: know about how long each vegetable takes to cook BEFORE you start. The harder the vegetable, the longer the cook time. Also, the bigger and thicker the pieces, the longer they will take.

Go-To Chicken Pasta

Serves: 4

Ingredients

  • 8 oz. pasta, any shape, about 2 cups (note the cook time on package)
  • 2 teaspoon salt for the cooking water
  • 4-6 cups chopped vegetables
  • 1 package GoodHeart Chicken
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese, divided
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Over high heat, bring about 4 quarts of salted water to boil in a large pot (make sure there’s enough headspace for the boiling water to rise in the pot when you add the veggies and chicken!)
  2. Before starting to cook ANYTHING, note how long vegetables take to cook, and put them in order on the counter (or at least in your mind) from the longest to shortest cooking time.
  3. Put pasta in pot, give it a stir and set timer. It will come back to a boil.
  4. When the timer counts down to the time of the first longest vegetable, add that one to the boiling pasta pot and cover with a lid so it comes back to boiling quickly. When the timer counts down to the next longest vegetable, add that one and cover the pot with a lid, and so on until all vegetables are in the pot.
  5. When the timer counts down to the time of the first longest vegetable, add that one to the boiling pasta pot and cover with a lid so it comes back to boiling quickly. When the timer counts down to the next longest vegetable, add that one and cover the pot with a lid, and so on until all vegetables are in the pot.
  6. With the last vegetable, or with 2 minutes left to go, add the GoodHeart Chicken. It’s already prepped and cooked, so all that’s needed is to heat it up!
  7. When the timer goes off, test a piece of pasta and the hardest vegetable. They should be al dente. If they need more cooking time, set the timer for another minute. When done, remove pot from heat.
  8. Carefully drain water from the pot. It’s ok if a little is left in — a little bit of pasta water, let’s say 1/8 of a cup or so, will help mix up the rest of the ingredients.
  9. Add the mayo and gently stir until mixed. You don’t want to break up the pasta!
  10. Add the parmesan cheese and gently stir.
  11. Add the salt and pepper, or other seasoning, to taste. (Between the cooking water and the parmesan, you may not need more salt.) Sprinkle with remaining parmesan.
  12. Serve hot or makes great cold leftovers.

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT

This is where I share some common cooking predicaments, emergency substitutions and general observations for each recipe. I may not be proud to own up to some of these, but thank goodness the internet is a safe place where no one judges anyone else!

LARGE POT: Because boiling water takes up more room in a pot than water that’s NOT boiling, I just wanted to mention the importance of having a pot that will fit all the boiling water, pasta and vegetables without boiling over on to your stove.

PASTA: Let's say you've run out of pasta. Have you really?! This is a forgiving recipe where I can use up all those mismatched shapes in the crumpled bags I’ve twisted close and thrown back on the shelf. Just use the longest cooking time. Or! Sometimes when I make lasagna I have left over lasagna noodles. Maybe I have broken up those left over noodles into bite sized pieces before cooking and served them as a special fancy “artisanal pasta.” People will believe many things.

SHREDDED PARMESAN CHEESE: I have shaken Parmesan cheese out of a green cylindrical container into this pasta dish because I didn’t have any fresh shredded Parm. No complaints were registered.

VEGETABLE COOKING TIMES: Completely depends on your taste and the size of the cut veg, but it goes something like this… Broccoli, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, kale about 6 minutes Zucchini, asparagus, bell pepper, mushroom, fresh or thawed peas, onion about 4 minutes Tomato, spinach, fresh or thawed corn about 2 minutes

AL DENTE: Literal translation of this Italian phrase is “to the tooth.” It means that what is being cooked should be firm to the bite. You know when you bite into a piece of undercooked pasta and then look at the cross section and see a speck of white? Stop playing with your food! Al dente is the moment right after the white middle disappears and the pasta is cooked to perfection — not soft and starchy. Unless you find comfort in soft starchy pasta which is absolutely fine!