This is one of my go to recipes for penne pasta when I don’t have a lot of time to cook. It’s really quick, fresh and simple to make. Total cook and prep time is 20 minutes if you time everything properly. First boil your water, then put chicken on, then chop vegetables, etc. You have to monitor a few things at once, but once you get it down, you’ll be making really fast meals. I did the math on it, and 3 servings cost me about $5 using organic chicken from Costco. That’s dirt cheap. Plus you can add as many vegetables as you like and make it your own.
- 4-5 chicken thighs
- 6 handfuls of Penne pasta
- 1/4 cup Kalamata olives
- Splash of red wine vinegar (or white balsamic)
- 2 Roma tomatoes
- 4 green onions
- 4-6 cloves of garlic
- fresh basil and thyme
- olive oil
- Add pasta to boiling water with salt and olive oil.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to pan on medium heat. Let cook and brown for about 6 minutes a side. Don’t mess with it at all until you flip it. Just adjust the heat so you have a nice sizzling sound, but make sure its not burning. You will need to turn it down a bit as it cooks.
- When you flip it, add fresh thyme
- Finely chop garlic, onions, and tomatoes
- Remove chicken and add garlic, onions, olives, and tomatoes with olive oil and red wine vinegar to the SAME pan
- Cook on medium heat until soft
- Drain pasta when it is slightly undercooked, and add to the onions, garlic, and tomato mixture
- Add chicken and season with salt and pepper and a bit more olive oil.
- Mix everything and let cook for a few more minutes
- Top with basil and Parmesan cheese
