Cheesy Chicken Veggie Pasta — The Coating Should Whisper

I met my neighbor. Her name is Jen. She's twenty-three, married to a Lance Corporal, has a two-year-old named Dylan who has the energy of a small tornado, and she knocked on my door Wednesday morning with a plate of brownies and said, 'You're new. I brought chocolate. Let's be friends.' Military wife friendship operates on an accelerated timeline. You don't have months to get to know each other. You have weeks, maybe, before someone PCSes or deploys or the universe rearranges itself. So you skip the small talk. You go straight to real talk. By the time the brownies were gone, Jen had told me about her husband's upcoming deployment (July), her son's terrible twos (terrible), and her coping mechanism (baking, specifically brownies, specifically these brownies, which are from a box because 'I don't have time for scratch baking when a toddler is trying to eat crayons'). I liked her immediately. She's blunt, funny, and has the specific dark humor of a woman who has been a military wife long enough to know that you either laugh or you cry and laughing is more useful. 'How long have you been married?' she asked. 'Three weeks.' 'Oh, honey.' She said it with the compassion and the pity of a woman who remembers being three weeks married and also knows what's coming. 'It gets better. And worse. And then better again. It's a sine wave.' A sine wave. I should have paid more attention in Stats. I made dinner for Jen and her husband, Eric, on Friday. My first dinner party, if you can call four adults and a toddler eating in a base housing apartment a dinner party. I made Mom's chicken parmesan because it's impressive but not difficult and because I needed to prove to myself that I could feed people who aren't Ryan. The chicken parm was good. Not perfect — the breading was a little thick and I definitely used too much oil — but Jen had seconds and Eric said, 'This is awesome,' which is Marine for 'this is edible and there's enough of it.' I called Mom after they left. 'I had people over for dinner.' 'How was it?' 'The chicken parm was thick.' 'Less breadcrumbs next time. And don't press the chicken into the crumbs — dredge lightly. The coating should whisper, Rachel, not shout.' The coating should whisper. My mother is a poet and she doesn't know it. I have a friend. I have a recipe that needs work. I have a life that's starting to take shape in this tiny apartment in Jacksonville. It's not Norfolk. But it's not nothing.

So here’s the recipe I’m working with now — a cheesy chicken pasta that takes Mom’s advice to heart. Less breading, more flavor, and enough cheese to make Jen come back for seconds again. It’s the kind of dinner that feels like a dinner party even when it’s just four adults and a toddler in a base housing apartment, and it’s forgiving enough that you can make it while you’re still figuring out your kitchen. And your life.

Cheesy Chicken Veggie Pasta

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large), cut into bite-sized pieces
• 12 ounces penne pasta
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 medium zucchini, diced
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1 jar (24 ounces) marinara sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Fresh basil for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the penne according to package directions until al dente. Drain and set aside, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water.
2. Season and cook the chicken. Pat the chicken pieces dry and season with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder. Heat olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken for 5 to 6 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a plate.
3. Cook the vegetables. In the same skillet, add the zucchini and cook for 3 minutes until just tender. Add the cherry tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes more. Stir in the baby spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute.
4. Combine everything. Return the chicken to the skillet. Pour in the marinara sauce and stir to combine. Add the cooked pasta and toss gently, adding a splash of reserved pasta water if the mixture looks dry.
5. Add the cheese. Preheat your broiler to high. Sprinkle the mozzarella and Parmesan evenly over the top of the skillet. Place under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes, watching carefully, until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and lightly golden.
6. Serve. Remove from the broiler and let cool for 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh basil if desired. Serve straight from the skillet — one less dish to wash.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 420 | Protein: 32g | Fat: 12g | Carbs: 46g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 680mg