Rotisserie Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

I apologize for not updating sooner! I actually made this for dinner two nights ago, but hadn't gotten around to updating. I've been busy taking advantage of the beautiful sunny (albeit now freezing) days doing several errands and preparation for baby #2. One of these errands was:

 

New fluorescent light!

 I also grabbed some adorable new floor mats that make the kitchen feel more...homey. They also feel much better to stand on than the tile floor!

But enough random gab; time for the food! This is a tasty meal to make, especially when the rotisserie chickens at the store smell particularly delectable. :)

Rotisserie Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

Ingredients:

Penne pasta

1-2 cups fresh broccoli

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

1/2 tsp. (1 clove) minced garlic

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 or so tsp. ground black pepper

1/4-1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

Rotisserie chicken pulled into chunks

Directions:

1.) Cook pasta according to directions on pasta, adding broccoli in the last 3-5 minutes of cook time. Drain and set aside.

2.) While the pasta cooks, melt butter in a med. sized saucepan over med. heat. Add minced garlic once the butter has melted and briefly mix before adding in cream, garlic powder, and pepper.

3.) Simmer, uncovered, for 10-12 min, stirring every so often. At the end of this time, add in Parmesan cheese; stir. Add in Mozzarella cheese; stir.

4.) Add chicken to Alfredo sauce and heat for about 2-3 min.

5.) Pour mixture over noodles and broccoli; mix and serve!

 I used to always use garlic cloves I chopped myself, but I grew tired of my fingers always smelling like garlic and how the garlic stuck to me, so I recently purchased a jar of pre-minced garlic. Forgot to place the pepper in the picture as well.

Start your water for the pasta boiling. I always add salt as it does, to help the pasta not stick together. Add the pasta when it is time and cook as per package directions, adding in the broccoli in the last 3-5 min. of the cook time.

While that is going on, start heating a pan over med. heat. This will be for melting the butter. Once it is nice and hot, plop in the butter until that melts down. Once the butter has melted, add in the minced garlic and give it a little bit of a stir, to separate the garlic pieces from themselves. Swiftly following should be the cream (you could always use half and half instead), garlic powder, and pepper. Stir those together and let it simmer for 10-12 min., stirring every so often.

While that is heating, you can measure out the cheeses and pick off some chicken from the rotisserie. I prefer the rotisserie chicken in this recipe, simply because I like the flavor better compared to chicken breasts I cooked beforehand. I've tried it both ways, and this way just seems to have better flavor. As a plus, I don't even use all of the meat from the chicken, so you can save it for something else. I had a little helper for measuring my Mozzarella. :)

At the end of the simmering time, add in the Parm. and Mozz., stirring after each addition. Before you add them, the sauce will likely still seem pretty liquidy. After you add these two cheeses and mix it up, you'll immediately notice that it is thicker and a better Alfredo.

 Add the chicken chunks and stir; let the mixture sit for a few minutes.

 Pour the Alfredo mixture over the noodles and broccoli and mix it up, coating it all nice.

Spoon it into bowls and you're done!

I would like to note that this makes for really great leftovers, but that the butter from the sauce does separate a bit  when you re-heat it.

Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker website.