Grilled Chicken Over Vegetable Penne

My cooking teacher would be proud of this dish; it has lots of color and texture just like I was taught 🙂

Alex over at Snippets with Alex is doing a “fitness week” on her blog so I contributed to the food portion with this recipe. Her fitness week couldn’t be at a better time since I’ve also been focusing on eating healthier lately, especially with the holidays coming up… >.<
Well anyways my meals are healthier, but I still make time for dessert. All things in moderation right? 😉

For this recipe, I wanted it simple and light so I just did good old salt and pepper before grilling the chicken. If you want, you could also marinade it the night before. Here is a copycat of a famous marinade called Chiavetta’s from my home in Upstate NY: here.

Grilled Chicken Over Vegetable Penne
Serves 2

• 1 large (or two small) boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 4 oz. penne pasta
• olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup broccoli, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• salt & pepper

Directions:

If needed, pound chicken to make it a uniform thickness. Let sit until about room temperature.

Boil a small pot of water and cook your pasta al dente. Once done, drain.

While the pasta is cooking, pour about 1 Tbsp olive oil into a large pan and place over medium heat. Once warm, throw in your garlic and cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the broccoli and tomatoes and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the chicken stock and simmer. Cook about 3 minutes until the liquid is reduced by half. Remove from heat.
Add the pasta and Parmesan cheese directly to the pan and toss to combine.

For the chicken: season with salt and pepper and grill about 3 minutes on each side until juices run clear and there is no pink. Cut into slices at an angle.

Assemble by dishing the pasta onto serving plates and topping with the chicken.

Penne recipe adapted from this Giada recipe. 

Linking with Create It Thurs,Weekend Re-Treat,