I know that every family has that night of the week. You know the one where each kid in the family has practice at the same time on opposite sides of the city. It’s also the same night that the kids have to finish their homework packets, so that they can be turned in when they get to school in the morning. Our crazy night is Thursday nights. I dread them. I dread the driving around, scrambling to get to soccer practice on time with cleats tied and shinguards in place. “Oh and your ball needs to be pumped up too? Great. Hey, is your homework all finished for tomorrow? Oh, it isn’t? That’s unfortunate.” sigh

One of the hardest parts about those nights is feeding everybody. I learned a while ago, that if I don’t have a plan for a quick healthy meal I will stop and pick up some junk fast food on the way home. Not that I want to get fast food, what I want at that moment is the kids to stop whining about how hungry they are and how great the toys are at Sonic and blah, blah, blah.

So today I have a fantastic, quick and easy, one-pot recipe for you to use on that night. Plus, I have 49 other blogger friends who also have quick weeknight dinner ideas for you too, down at the bottom of the page.  You can thank me later.

I like to keep leftover chicken breasts in the fridge, they are easy to chop up and throw on a salad or into a dish like this. If you don’t have chicken cooked, you will have to do so for this dish. Or just go meatless.

Additionally, I like to add lots and lots of vegetables. Really any kind will work. That way I can pull out some chicken and veggies for myself, since I usually don’t want the pasta.

I love cooking with chicken broth (low-sodium of course.) It really adds flavor to whatever starches you are using whether it’s pasta, rice, potatoes. Cooking it all in one pot really saves on the clean up too.

I was a little heavy handed with the feta this time. If you want a creamier pasta dish dump the feta in! If you just want a hint of feta, sprinkle it on top. You can use fresh parmesan if you don’t have/want feta.

Yield: 4 servings

Quick Chicken Veggie Pasta with Feta

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Print

Ingredients

• 1/2 package dry spaghetti noodles (about 7 ounces)
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 4-5 fresh basil leaved, chopped (reserve some for garnish)
• One 32 oz box of low sodium chicken broth
• Feta crumbles
• Pepper to taste
• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped

Instructions

1. Put the noodles, vegetables and chicken broth into a large pot, reserving some of the basil for garnish. Turn the stove on to high and time for 13 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Remove when the much of the broth has been soaked up by the pasta and the pasta is tender.
2. Stir in cooked, diced chicken breasts.
3. Place into a dish, sprinkle with desired amount of feta.
4. Garnish with remaining basil.
5. Pepper to taste.