Lemony Chicken & Broccoli Noodles

When I like a recipe, it's hard to not make it all the time. I have to restrain myself or both Hubby and I will get sick of it, which is never a good thing. One of those recipes is Lemony Chicken & Broccoli Noodles.  I love this recipe.  Like love-love.  I haven't made it for about two months or so, which is surprising for me.  Hubby mentioned earlier that he wanted it for dinner.  Sure, my pleasure.  *big cheesy grin*



This recipe is so easy and so good.  It would be super easy to make it healthier as well, trading the noodles for whole wheat, using a butter substitute, and low-fat cheese.  Since I'm trying to eat healthier as well, I might have to try that sometime, but for now, it's delicious and not too terribly unhealthy as it is.  I mean, it's got broccoli.  That's automatically healthy, right??  Lol!

The recipe is below with some notes.  I got the recipe from here: Click here to link to original recipe


Lemony Broccoli Pasta with Chicken
(or as I call it, Lemony Chicken & Broccoli Noodles)

Hands-On Time: 10 minutes
Ready In: 30 minutes

Ingredients 
12 ounces dried pasta shapes (fusilli, wagon wheels, rotini, etc.)  -- I use rotini by preference
1 pound (4 small or 2 large) skinless, boneless chicken breasts
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons butter (divided use) 
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press -- if you use a lot of garlic in recipes (like me), I highly recommend the 

         jars of pre-minced garlic.  So much easier.
1 large bunch broccoli, stems peeled, and stems and florets cut into small pieces -- frozen broccoli ftw!  Just don't use 

         the whole florets, get the chopped broccoli, it makes a huge difference.
1 cup chicken broth
juice and finely grated zest of 1 large lemon -- or if you don't like messing with the mess of a lemon, just get a bottle of

         the juice
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped and toasted at 350ºF for 5 minutes -- purely optional.  I've only added these once and 

        I found that I prefer it without them.
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving -- BWAHAHAHAHA, freshly grated, sure sure.  This family

       doesn't roll that way.  While I'm sure it tastes even better with freshly grated parm, I really hate grating cheese, a lot. 

       Don't ask why, I just do.  Instead, I use the Sargento 6 Cheese Italian pre-shredded packets for the 1 cup and the    

       handy dandy plastic shaker from Kraft for the extra on top.

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of pasta-cooking water to a boil and salt it heavily: it should taste as salty as seawater. Cook the pasta (if you add it when the chicken is about half cooked, the sauce and pasta will be done at the same time), drain it, and return it to the pot with 3 tablespoons of the butter.
2. Pat the chicken dry and season on both sides with salt and pepper. In a very large skillet, heat the olive oil and remaining 1 tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat until foamy and very hot, then add the chicken and sauté until well browned and cooked through, around 4 minutes per side (thicker breasts may take longer; turn the heat down as needed to keep the chicken from burning). Remove the chicken to a cutting board.  -- Btw, cooking chicken like this is the new standard in the house.  Seriously delicious.  I do add some garlic powder to the breasts with the salt and pepper, but it's not absolutely necessary.
3. Turn the heat to low and add the garlic to the pan, stirring for a few seconds until it is fragrant but not browned, then add the broccoli, the broth, and 1 teaspoon of salt, stirring to dissolve the browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
4. Cover the pan, turn the heat up to medium, and cook/steam until the broccoli is just tender: 3-4 minutes.
5. Add the chicken, which you've sliced thinly, back to the pan, along with the lemon juice and zest, the walnuts, and the buttered pasta, and stir to combine well (if the skillet isn't large enough, combine in the pasta pot).  -- It says to thinly slice the chicken, which does look pretty, but honestly, it's just easier to eat when it's in bit-size pieces.
6. Now taste a piece of pasta: it should be lemony and flavorful; add more salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste. Stir in the parmesan cheese (or Sargento's haha), then serve, passing more parmesan at the table.