Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Peanut Sauce Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli

Main Dishes

My hubby found the lid of our food processer in the recycling today. How in the world did it get in there?!? Luckily he noticed it before emptying our bin on the curb and disaster was avoided. I haven’t gotten enough sleep this week, and apparently it caught up with me! Whenever I’m having a super busy week, I go on autopilot in the kitchen and whip up a simple pasta dish that takes care of both the protein and veggie components of the meal.

I make this dish at least once a month and always have all the ingredients on hand because it’s one my favorites! Hearty whole wheat penne, chicken, and broccoli florets are coated in a light and spicy peanut sauce. Simple, easy, delicious.

Peanut Sauce Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 pound whole wheat penne pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
8 cups frozen broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups cold chicken stock
2 tablespoons cornstarch
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (or to taste)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; sauté 5 to 7 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked and no longer pink in the center. Remove chicken from pan. Meanwhile, prepare broccoli in the microwave according to the package directions.

Mix chicken stock and cornstarch together in a small bowl. Add soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, honey, and crushed red pepper; mix well and add peanut butter.

Pour sauce mixture into skillet the chicken was cooked in and heat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, or until peanut butter melts, and sauce thickens and bubbles. Mix pasta, sauce, chicken, and broccoli, and stir until sauce evenly coats all the ingredients. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition: 508 calories, 14.7g fat, 8.g fiber, 36.4g protein per serving
Cost: $1.01 per serving

Greek Meatball Lasagna with Roasted Eggplant and Zucchini

Back in February, our friend Catherine invited us to stay at her family’s house by the Berkshire East Ski Resort. It was only my third time skiing, having grown up in the flat Midwest, and I’m a bit of a klutz, so I was cautiously looking forward to it. Catherine’s...

White Pizza with Sausage, Pancetta, Leeks, and Parmesan

Apolinaras and I recently celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary with a trip to Martha’s Vineyard over Memorial Day weekend! I really can’t believe it’s already been eight years. It was our last vacation before the baby arrives, so there was nothing on our agenda...

Cajun Shrimp Pasta

Whenever I think of Cajun pasta, I think of Emeril. Remember when he was on the Food Network 24/7? I became a big fan of his after visiting his restaurant NOLA in New Orleans with my good college friends Susie and Britt over New Year’s 2002. I remember enjoying a...

Red Curry Risotto

One of my favorite meals to whip up when we’re low on groceries is a red or green Thai curry. We always have coconut milk, Thai curry paste, and rice in our pantry, and even if we don’t have any fresh produce, I can usually at least dig up some frozen veggies to round...

Bacon and Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Breasts over Sweet Potato Hash

I’m always on the hunt for new chicken recipes and often times will just write “chicken” on my blog recipe idea list as motivation to dream up something new! Stuffed chicken is one of our favorites, and I especially love using a little mascarpone cheese in the filling...

Shrimp Fried Rice with Edamame, Corn, and Red Pepper Succotash

I'm back from San Diego and it was quite the trip! I'm already looking forward to going through my pictures and posting a recap this weekend, but for now, all I want to do is curl up and go to sleep. For some reason I thought it would be a great idea to take the...

Thai Burgers with Plum Sauce and Spicy Slaw

I’ve slowly been working on a few recipes to go with my recap posts about our amazing trip to New Zealand, but I haven’t even started to go through all our pictures. The task just seems too overwhelming...but today I have a little teaser post – Thai turkey burgers...

Gnocchi with Pancetta, Mushrooms, and Gruyere

Apolinaras and I finally checked out Foundry on Elm, a newish hot spot in our neighborhood, on one of our recent date nights. It was packed on the Tuesday evening we went and we could see why after we tried the creative cocktails. Mine was called the Bee’s Knees and...