Creamy Chicken Pasta Bake with Mushroom & Broccoli
This Creamy Pasta Bake is one of my favourites. It's hearty, rich and full of flavour. You might even have enough left for lunch the next day or two. You'll get 6 good portions following this recipe. If you have some Spinach lying around, throw some in too.
Creamy Chicken Pasta Bake with Mushrooms & Broccoli
This Creamy Chicken Pasta Bake will get demolished very quickly. If you want some for lunch the next day, put some in a container BEFORE serving dinner as chances are, there won't be any left.
I don't tend to serve this with anything as the back already has both meat and veggies but a side bowl of fresh salad wouldn't hurt anyone.
I'd recommend getting all the ingredients ready at the before you start the cook so , wash, cut and season that chicken (in that order), chop those onions, grate that cheese, chop the mushrooms and if you have a whole broccoli, you'd want to break off all the bushy ends (with a bit of stem) as those are the bits we'll be using.
(For the best results, prep the chicken the day before)
If you haven't seasoned your washed and cut chicken yet, do this now. Add the chicken and chicken seasoning to a large mixing bowl and mix till completely covered. Leave to one side.
Preheat your oven to 200 C.
In a large saucepan, bring water to boil and add salt then add your pasta.
Put your saute pan (or deep frying pan) on medium-high heat and heat the olive oil. Add the chicken and cook till sealed which should take no more than 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and leave to one side.
In the same pan you just took the chicken out of, saute the onions and the mushrooms adding the mixed herbs and salt & pepper, cook for about 2 minutes before adding the broccoli to the party. Stir for another 2 minutes.
(at this stage, check on your pasta, you want it slightly undercooked "al dente" as it will continue to cook in the bake. Try a piece of pasta, if it's still rock hard, it needs longer, if it's soft all the way through, it's overcooked. You want it a little firm in the middle, chewy. If this is the case, your pasta is "al dente".)
If your pasta is "al dente" remove, drain the water and rinse under cold water. this will stop the pasta from sticking together.
Add the chicken back to the pan with the veggies and add the Not So Hot Sauce, cream and chicken stock. Stir and bring to boil then reduce the heat before adding all of the cheddar and less than half of the mozzarella, stir until all the cheese has melted.
In a large bowl (I use the same pan I part-cooked the pasta in) add your "al dente" pasta and all of the contents in the pan, get every last drop, leave no drop behind. Mix well and make sure all the pasta is completely covered.
Empty into a baking dish and make sure everything is level before evenly spreading the rest of the mozzarella cheese, covering the pasta.
Place in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes till that cheese gets that golden brown look.
Remove from the oven and top with parsley and spring onions before serving.
