Cook with me Tuesday- One Pot Creamy Chicken Pasta

   Hey Guys and welcome back to this weeks Cook with me Tuesday. This week I thought I'd share one of my favorite one pot dishes with you. Lets face it, when you're working or have a busy house to take care of, the last thing you want to think about is trying to make some crazy elaborate meal... let alone one that you're going to have to clean up a thousand pots and pans after you make it along with the plates and other dishes. So I find one pot meals to be a go to.

   If you watched my video, you'll notice that I mentioned that this is "truly a one pot dish" I mention this because a lot of times these supposed "one pot dishes, I've found, turn into two or three but I promise, with this meal it's only one pot. You'll cook the chicken, sauce, and pasta in one pot... so no extra stuff to clean.

So lets get to the whole reason you're here... the recipe!

What you'll need:


3 Chicken Breasts
1- 1 1/2 pounds of spaghetti
6 cups water
4 cups whole milk (you can use 2% if you'd like)
1/2 cup half and half
6 tablespoons butter
2-3 tablespoons cream cheese
1 cup shredded Italian ( or just mozzarella) cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons garlic powder
3 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste


What you'll do:

   First things first, you're going to have to season your chicken breast. Go ahead and preheat a large skillet over high heat. Make sure that the pan you use is large enough to mix sauce and for the pasta to cook. While your pan is heating up, go ahead and season your chicken breast. I like to spray the chicken breast on both sides with a bit of cooking spray but you can use olive oil if you prefer. Once you've done that, sprinkle the garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, as well as salt and pepper over both sides of the chicken.

   Once the chicken is well seasoned, go ahead and spray the heated pan with a little more cooking spray ( or put a couple of tablespoons of oil in the bottom of the pan) and gently add the chicken breast to the pan. You'll need to cook the chicken for 2-5 minutes on the first side, or until it is golden brown.

   When the chicken looks nice and brown on that first side, go ahead and flip it over to the other side. Now the inside of the chicken may still look a little raw. That's okay... you'll be steaming it so it will cook all the way through. Once all 3 breasts have been flipped, add about 1/4 cup of water to the bottom of the pan along with about 2-3 tablespoons of butter. Place a tight fitting lid over the top of the pan and let the chicken cook through.

   When the chicken appears to be cooked completely through, remove the pan from the heat and place the chicken breasts on a plate to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing. This will not only help to keep from burning your finger prints off while you're cooking but will also help to preserve some of the moisture in the chicken. Trust me... it's a win win!

   While that chicken is resting we are going to move on to the cream sauce that will also be used to cook the noodles. Leaving all of the leftover chicken and seasoning in the bottom of the pan, you'll need to add in the water, half and half, and milk to the pan and stir it together. Place the pan back on the stove and allow to heat up to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to prevent from sticking. Once the sauce has started to simmer, add in the remaining butter to the pan and continue to stir. Make sure that you get all of the little bits off of the bottom, this will add a ton of flavor to the sauce. when the butter has melted I like to check the flavor to see if I need to add a little salt or pepper at this point.

   The sauce should be at a good simmer at this point which is when you will add the pasta. No need to worry about the sauce being thick at this point or cooking the pasta first. The watery(ish) sauce will work to cook the noodles perfectly and the starches from the pasta will work as the thickening agent to help thicken your pasta to the perfect consistency. Bring the sauce back up to a simmer and lower the heat to medium low to allow the pasta to cook.Make sure, while the pasta is cooking, that you continue to stir the sauce and the pasta frequently to prevent anything from burning or sticking.

  While the pasta is cooking, go ahead and slice the chicken into about 1 inch slices and set aside for later. 

   When the past is tender and the sauce has thickened, you'll then add the cheese. I like to start off by adding the cream cheese to the pasta and sauce and mixing it until it is completely melted and worked through. Next, add in the Parmesan cheese and again mix it through until completely melted. Make sure to break up any little chunks that may have formed in the cheese. Finally you'll add the shredded cheese. Now personally, I like to use the Shredded Italian mixed cheese from walmart but you can use just mozzarella if you prefer. At this point you can turn off the heat to the pan and mix the cheese and pasta up until its all incorporated. At this point, you can also add a little extra milk to thin out the sauce if it's needed. It can get really thick really fast and milk, I've found, is the best thing to use to thin it out a little and make it a little creamier.

   When everything is mixed up, add the chicken back to the pan and replace the lid to allow the chicken to warm back up. When you're ready to eat, just serve it up with your favorite veggie or a salad and enjoy.

I'd love to see your version of this recipe, so make sure that you let me know if you fixed this casserole and make sure to send me pictures on my Social Media links below. You can also email me!


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