This chicken and penne was such a simple and easy pasta dish to make. The whole thing came together in under 30 minutes! Use any vegetables you have; I just used jarred roasted red peppers because I wanted to use them up.
You can substitute any herbs you have in your pantry if you haven’t got fennel and marjoram. Whenever I read a recipe with some seasoning/spice I haven’t got on hand, I just substitute something I do have. Basil/oregano/Italian seasoning usually does the trick with pasta.
Of course, we always eat noodles in our house because my children love them. I find pasta dishes are a good way to encourage children to eat things they wouldn’t otherwise touch.
Penne With Chicken And Peppers
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 8 ounces uncooked penne pasta
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs (visible fat removed, cut into 1" pieces)
- ¼ teaspoon crushed fennel seed
- ¼ teaspoon dried marjoram
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion (thinly sliced)
- 1 bell pepper (thinly sliced)
- 1 cup jarred roasted red pepper (thinly sliced)
- 2 garlic cloves (finely minced)
- ¼ cup dry white wine
Instructions
- Boil a large pot of water and cook the pasta according to package instructions.
- Cut the visible fat off the chicken thighs, and chop the meat into 1" pieces.
- Mix the dried marjoram, crushed fennel seed and black pepper in a small bowl. Rub it all over the chicken to season it; set the chicken aside in the refrigerator.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet or shallow saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion and bell pepper for about 10 minutes — until the vegetables are very soft, and very browned.
- Add the roasted red pepper and garlic to the skillet to cook for 1 more minute.
- Transfer the vegetables to a plate. Spritz the skillet lightly with nonstick spray, turn the heat up to medium-high and cook the chicken in the same skillet.
- Let the chicken sit on the heat for a couple of minutes so it can develop a nice golden-brown sear; don't move the chicken around too much. Stir occasionally until the chicken browns up.
- Once the chicken pieces are fully cooked, add the vegetable mixture back to the skillet. Turn the heat down to medium.
- Add the ¼ cup of wine to deglaze the skillet. Use a spatula to scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom of the skillet; stir the chicken and vegetables together for about 1 minute as the alcohol in the wine burns away.
- Add the cooked pasta to the skillet, stirring until the pasta is fully coated with liquid from the veggie/chicken/wine mixture.
