Comfort Chicken Alfredo

My family is obsessed with pasta, and chicken Alfredo tops the charts. When I think of comfort food, I think of chicken and pasta, Alfredo to be exact. It has that cheesy goodness that is too tempting to resist.

Life gets busy, and sometimes it's hard to cook dinner, sometimes you just don't want to. But this recipe is SO easy to make and perfect for those last minute meals that you dread making. Your family will be begging for this meal again and again.

If you've read my story on "egg noddles" or even "perfect dough every-time," you KNOW that I love to hand-make bread, pasta, and dough. I honestly wouldn't recommend homemade noodles with this recipe; normally when you make noodles, instead of boiling them, you just put them into the bowl of hot soup and let it rest for about five minutes and they're cooked. If you want to make homemade noodles for this you will need to boil the pasta and then you are baking it as well. Trust me, it will be delicious, but you need to make sure to get the pasta SUPER thin and if you don't have a pasta machine that is very time consuming to do.

I make this recipe often; like I said, my family is pretty much obsessed with pasta. This is a fan favorite in this house and is made pretty often. Now normally people just make pasta, put your sauce on, and add chicken to the top. But. If you know me and my family, you know we LOVE casseroles. There's something that happens when you bake pasta like this. If you love those crunchy sides and that golden brown cheese, there's not a doubt in my mind that you will LOVE this recipe.

This recipe calls for penne pasta, but I always love exploring with different kinds of pasta: bow ties, fettuccine, rigatoni, or ziti are my all-time picks for this recipe.

Don't be afraid about overcooking the pasta; once you boil it, that's where it stays… you only put this in the oven to turn it into a casserole and to melt the cheese. (The extra baking in the oven will not overcook your pasta.)

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• 12 oz penne pasta (or any shape)
• 2 cups shredded chicken (about 2 chicken breasts)
• 1 cup spinach (optional)
• Alfredo sauce (homemade will be below, but one store bought Alfredo sauce would work)
• Optional toppings: parmesan cheese, parsley

For homemade Alfredo sauce (optional)

• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 4 minced cloves garlic
• 3 TBSP flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup milk
• 3/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper

(if you like a lot of sauce, I suggest doubling the sauce recipe)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Boil pasta in a large well-salted pot, drain pasta, add back to pot, add chicken and Alfredo sauce until pasta is evenly coated, stir in spinach (optional).
• Pour half of the pasta into a well oiled baking pan, sprinkle parmesan cheese, add the rest of the pasta, and sprinkle the rest of the parmesan on top.
• Bake 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and just barely starting to tun golden brown.
• Remove and serve, add finishing toppings (optional).

Directions for Alfredo sauce:

• Heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat add garlic and saute for a minute, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with flour stirring to combine, stir flour for an additional minute.
• Slowly add chicken broth, whisking to combine until smooth, whisk in milk, bring to a simmer. Let cook for an additional minute to thicken, then stir in parmesan, salt & pepper until cheese is melted.
• Remove from heat, set aside.