I can't help thinking of this bit any time I cook with penne. I want a pasta that's healthy and not too heavy, so my idea for this pasta casserole dish is to use one of those delightful maxed-out pastas (you know the kind, with protein and fiber and omega 3s and everything under the sun). Additionally, I'll use a mix of broccoli and spinach to account for vegetables. Finally, I'll keep with parmesan cheese (yeah yeah yeah, parmesan and not parmiggiano reggiano - but let's face it, I'm on a student's budget) to add flavor without a lot of extra calories. Basically, I see this as a glorified mac and cheese, with pan seared chicken on top. Sure the chicken could be cut up and baked with the pasta as well but when your entire dinner comes in one dish, I have a hard time not engulfing the entire thing.
Also, I've decided to try and start doing better at counting calories. I need to be more aware of what, calorically speaking, goes into my body, and in making these meals, sometimes it's easy to forget that every tsp of olive oil really adds up.
Spinach and Broccoli Penne with Pan-Seared Chicken
1lb uncooked penne pasta
1 tbsp olive oil
3 lean chicken breasts
1 tbsp butter
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 1/2 cups milk
1 cup parmesan cheese
12 oz package frozen spinach
11 oz package frozen broccoli
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Begin by setting a pot of salted water onto boil. While that is getting going, set a large over medium heat and let it get warm. Add the olive oil to the pot and let the oil heat up. Rinse and pat the chicken breasts dry, season them with salt and pepper and place the chicken breasts into the pan. Sear until nice and brown, then turn over and sear on the opposite side (about 4-5 minutes per side. Once the chicken breasts are done, place on a sheet pan and into the oven for about 15 - 20 minutes to finish cooking.
In the meantime, your water should be boiling, so add the pasta.
Add the butter and garlic to the pot that contained the chicken and cook for a minute or two, max. Add the flour and combine to form a clumpy roux. Whisk in the chicken stock and cook the flour for a couple minutes longer. Then, add the milk and whisk to dissolve the roux. Let the mixture come to a boil, whisking frequently to make sure there are no clumps. Once the mixture boils, add the parmesan cheese and allow it to melt before adding the frozen spinach and broccoli.
Once you've added the veggies, the mixture will thicken and cool almost instantly because of the drastic temperature change. Keep the pot at medium and allow the mixture to warm through and just barely bubble. When your pasta is done, drain it and add it to the spinach and broccoli sauce. Remove the chicken from the oven, slice the chicken and serve.
I decided to do a little experiment with this recipe and count the calories and fat grams that went into it. I didn't leave out anything to make it super healthy, but I didn't go crazy with heavy cream and ridiculous amounts of cheese either. In the end, with everything accounted for, the fat grams were at 80 and the calories were about 2880. Dividing this total meal into 4 portions renders a very filling serving size (a little light on the chicken and a little heavy on the pasta though) of about 20 grams of fat and 720 calories. I feel like the calories were about average, but I was a little shocked by the fat. Overall, the butter and oil (1 tbsp each) contributed 25 grams and the cheese contributed 24 grams itself! All in all though, it's a solid meal on it's own, chock full of veggies, carbs, and a lean protein, so I'm pretty okay with this meal, at least once in a while as a break from soups and stews. Speaking of which, next up will be my friend Jess's Moroccan Chicken Stew!
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