CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI SHELLS AND CHEESE
Perfectly creamy homemade shells and cheese made with chicken and broccoli. Everyone loves this easy weeknight meal!
Start by boiling your pasta… i prefer to use classic shells for mine, but go crazy with whatever shape you like! During the previous couple of minutes of cooking time, toss the chopped broccoli into the boiling water.
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| CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI SHELLS AND CHEESE |
While the pasta and veg do their thing, whomp up a fast and straightforward white sauce . Good grief, is there anything more beautiful than a bright yellow, super melty, cheddar cheesy sauce? Mmm Mmmmm. this might appear as if the processed cheese-in-a-box stuff you get from the shop , but it’s not! This cheesy goodness is homemade and about 1000x tastier too. Butter, flour, milk, chicken stock , cheddar , and a touch little bit of seasoning turns into liquid gold right before your eyes.
Once the pasta is completed cooking and drained and therefore the white sauce is finished, it’s time to combine everything together. Wait… where does the chicken inherit play?? I don’t realize you, but on busy nights once I can barely get a meal on the table before it’s time to fly out the door to baseball games or football practice, I don’t have time to fiddle with raw chicken. Maybe I’m a complete weirdo, but it just looks like dirtying a chopping board with meat and cooking it's just an excessive amount of effort every single night. #lazy
A few months ago, I shared my recipe for creating perfect shredded chicken within the slow cooker, and that i wish to make big batches of it to stay within the freezer for meals a bit like this. I pull a bag of the pre-cooked back off of the freezer the night before to thaw and toss it into the white sauce to let it warm through. It saves plenty of your time and energy , which are some things I’m sure all of you'll appreciate!
INGREDIENTS:
- 8 ounces medium shell pasta
- 3 cups broccoli, chopped into florets
- 2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced (see recipe here)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
INSTRUCTIONS:
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package directions. Add broccoli during last 2-3 minutes of cook time. Drain and set aside.
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add flour and cooking, stirring, for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in milk and chicken broth and season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbling and thickened. Remove from heat and add cheddar cheese. Stir until melted.
- Add the drained pasta, broccoli, and chicken and stir to combine. If sauce becomes too thick, add milk as needed to thin.
