Healthy Chicken Vegetable Pasta Prima Vera

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts

3 Broccoli crowns

3 Celery stalks

1/2 Sweet red pepper

1 Zucchini

1/2 Cup sliced red onion

6 Green onions

4 Cloves garlic

2 Tablespoons minced basil

2 Tablespoons minced oregano

2 Tablespoons minced parsley

2 Tablespoons minced rosemary

(Note: Substitute 1 Tablespoon dried Italian seasonings if fresh herbs aren’t available.)

1 Tablespoon salt

2 Cups chicken broth (store bought or make it yourself using the StepByStepChef.com broth recipe.)

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Box rotini pasta — or the shaped pasta of your choice

(Note: The point of this recipe is to make a delicious meal using the freshest vegetables available. For example, you can substitute other vegetables, such as carrots, yellow squash and sweet or yellow onions.)

Instructions:

Prepare the following vegetables into bite-sized pieces and place them in a deep frying pan or large sauce pan: Cut red onion, celery  and sweet red pepper into thin slices. Further cut the red pepper slices into three segments. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise, then cut into thin slices. Cut the stems off the broccoli and cut each branch into bite-sized pieces.

Prepare the herbs and garlic and place in a small bowl. Remove the leaves from the basil, oregano, parsley and rosemary and mince. Crush or finely mince the garlic cloves on top of them.

Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and place in a bowl.

To prepare the vegetables: Place the deep frying pan over just-over medium heat and stir in two tablespoons vegetable oil. Saute the vegetables until the peppers and onions just start to appear translucent. At this point, stir in two cups chicken broth and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt. When the broth starts to simmer — small bubbles appear — turn the heat down to low.

While the vegetables are simmering, preheat a frying pan over medium heat. Spread a tablespoon of olive oil over the bottom of the pan and brown the chicken in the pan. When the chicken is cooked through — no pink meat appears — stir in the minced herbs and garlic and add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Allow to heat for a minute or two, being careful not to caramelize or burn the garlic. Stir the chicken mix into the vegetables, bring to a simmer again, and remove from heat. (Your objective is to cook the vegetables so they still have a slight crunch.)

Toward the end of the cooking process prepare your pasta of choice according to the instructions on the box. Put the chicken and vegetable prima vera on the pasta. It tastes great seasoned with parmesan cheese and/or red pepper flakes.

Congratulations! You just made Healthy Chicken Vegetable Pasta Prima Vera! Please visit StepByStepChef.com for easy, step by step recipes and videos for dozens of other delicious dishes!