Packed full of green goodness and tossed in a light garlic sauce, this pasta is a delicious way to eat your veggies!
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Effortless weeknight meals. That's all I'm about in the kitchen right now and this one fits the bill - effortless but delicious. My baby is a morning person. I am not. My baby likes to take endless laps around the house practicing her walking skills with the assistance of mom's fingers to hold onto. My back does not. Needless to say, I'm tired by dinner time. All I want to do is sit down...lay down...okay, sleep. But alas, there is a baby and hubby to feed... so enter meals like this.
We used to buy a large pack of boneless skinless chicken breasts, use two for dinner and freeze the rest. Call it lazy or call it efficient (it's probably stemmed from a little bit of both), but now we marinate them all and bake them or grill them off all in one fell swoop. Not only does this save on plastic freezer bags, it takes care of the most time consuming part of all of my weeknight meals. I now have cooked chicken ready to serve up plain with a side of veggies and a baked potato, dice and throw in tacos or slice and and to pastas, quinoa, rice, whatever! The possibilities are endless and, seriously, it makes weeknight meals a breeze.
The week this recipe was created, I marinated a package of boneless skinless chicken breasts in some basil parmesan dressing (affil.), and baked all of it off at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. I used it in tacos, quinoa and this pasta. Three easy weeknight meals worth of chicken with just about zero effort.
Hungry baby at home? This one has the stamp of approval from 8 month old Baby W and is a great finger food. Be sure to chop the spinach, broccoli and onions up nice and small for baby to avoid choking. As always, check with your doctor before introducing real food to baby and always introduce new foods one at a time to watch for reactions.
20 minutes and kid approved. The ultimate easy pasta to get your veggies in!
Ingredients
2 T butter
2 T olive oil
1 yellow onion - chopped
2 cloves garlic - minced
1 1/4 c. chicken broth
1 1/2 T lemon juice
2 c. baby spinach - chopped
3 c. cooked broccoli - chopped
8 oz package GF multigrain fusilli pasta with quinoa (or pasta of choice) - cooked and drained
2 cooked chicken breasts - diced
1/4 c. parmesan cheese (for topping)
chopped fresh chives (for topping)
Directions
Heat butter and olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté for 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook 30 seconds. Stir in chicken broth and lemon juice, bring to boil and then reduce to simmer. Simmer 5 minutes.
Stir in spinach, broccoli and chicken. Turn off heat after a couple of minutes or when the spinach is wilted and chicken and broccoli is reheated. Stir in pasta.
Serve topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese and chopped chives.
Serves: 2 hungry parents and an 8 month old, or 4 normal humans.
Time: 20 minutes
Enjoy all of the health benefits of broccoli and spinach in this quick, simple and delicious pasta recipe.