Chicken and Broccoli Penne Alfredo with Biscuit Bites

Isn't that a mouthful?  Why, yes.  Yes, it is.  A yummy one. 

I've made this before, sans broccoli.  Its quite a simple dinner.  Well, hello, I made it.  Of course its simple.  What was I thinking? Silly me.

The man requested this tonight for his birthday dinner.  I don't have to pay a fortune and fight with the littles at a restaurant? Score.  I'll cook.

The biscuit bites are a new thing.  I saw this blog and thought it was a pretty clever idea.  As the author states, its more a method than a recipe.  I chose a different flavor than she had listed.

The pasta is pretty straightforward, so I won't spend a lot of time boring you with details.

Here's what I used

1lb box of penne

1 bag fresh broccoli florets

1 bag grilled chicken strips (I used fajita flavor because its my favorite)

1 jar alfredo sauce, any flavor

1/2 Tbsp chopped garlic

pepper to taste

The pasta takes the longest, so start it first.  Then warm the chicken through in a skillet (the bag has microwave directions, too, so technically it could be a one pot dish if you went that route).  Steam the broccoli in the microwave, or add it to the pasta water the last five minutes of cooking.

Once the pasta has been drained, just add all the ingredients back into the pot and mix them up and warm through.  I added about a 1/2 cup of milk because the alfredo sauce didn't stretch quite enough, so don't worry about this being a soupy pasta.

I could have just added the broccoli on top for presentation purposes, but I had a 6 year old ready to gnaw her hand off if I didn't hurry!  Also, we had plenty left for the man and I both to take for lunch tomorrow..and probably the next day, too.  A pound of pasta serves 8.

 Now for the biscuit bites.  Again..easy.  Just a little bit more prep work involved than popping a can and throwing it in the oven.

Here's what I used.

3 Tbsp melted butter (if its yellow and goes on a biscuit..it's butter in this house)

seasoning to taste - I used a little over a tablespoon (choose your flavor)

1 can refrigerated biscuits

I just found this seasoning in the spice aisle and it looked pretty good.  It is..but if you can't find this particular seasoning or don't care for the flavor, I put back a bottle of garlic and herb Mrs. Dash..so you get the idea..you're just playing with the flavor you want to compliment your meal.  I even considered using those tubs of pre-made garlic butter they sell next to the fresh bread. You could also use dry ranch dressing mix or fresh herbs or even cinnamon sugar for a dessert.  Play with it.

The first step is to cut the biscuits into quarters.

I put my melted butter and seasoning in a big ziplock bag and just threw the biscuits in as I was cutting, then smooshed them all around to make sure everything was coated.

Then place on your pan and bake for 10-15 minutes on 350.  That's it!  Because of all the butter in the preparation, no one asked for butter in their biscuits.  Nice.

Christi