After many years of cooking meals for myself (and now for two) I’ve had the chance to experiment with different types of recipes—like homemade pizza and fried rice. One, in particular, I’ve always wanted to master is the art of a *simple* cheesy pasta sauce. Sure, you can buy the jarred stuff at the store and call it a day. But in my opinion, those sauces are too heavy for me to have on the regular. I like the taste of an alfredo sauce, but I wanted something a lot lighter than the jarred stuff from the store.
As you can see in the picture above, this sauce is very light. I still feel like this is a recipe I’m trying to perfect, but I think I’ve finally been able to nail down some measurements and timing. Here’s how I cook up this deliciously light cheesy chicken dish with just five simple ingredients.
The five ingredients are…
- 1/2 cup of milk (the thicker the better, I like 2%)
- 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup of pasta
- 3 -4 oz. diced chicken
- 1 cup of veggies (your choice!)
The possibilities are kind of endless in terms of the vegetables you could use. I’ll swing from one vegetable to another depending on how I’m feeling that night—or what I have on hand. My favorites to use are broccoli, mushrooms, and sun-dried tomatoes.
5 Ingredient Cheesy Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup milk , the thicker, the better.
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
- 3-4 oz. diced chicken
- 1 cup vegetables , you pick!
- cooking spray, or oil
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Heat up a pot of water. Once boiling, cook the pasta.
- While heating the water, spray (or spread) a large skillet with cooking spray or oil. First cook the cup of vegetables, seasoned with salt and pepper, for about 5 minutes. Set aside.
- Spray the pan again and cook the diced chicken, seasoned with salt and pepper. Once the chicken is thoroughly cooked, add the vegetables back into the pan.
- Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top of the skillet. Mix until the mozzarella cheese is just about melted.
- Add in the milk. Stir occasionally. The milk should bubble and start to thicken.
- After 3-4 minutes, add the cooked pasta. Stir together and cook on heat for another 1-2 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from heat and let the dish sit for another 5 minutes. This will allow for the sauce to thicken. Stir occasionally during this process to smooth it out.
Notes
– Broccoli
– Sun-dried tomatoes
– Mushrooms
– Green beans
– Peas & carrots
– Mixed frozen veggies
– Bell peppers
– Yellow squash
– Zucchini
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