Half a cup of milk is what saves this later.
Jarred Alfredo seizes into paste the second time it heats. Half a cup of milk stirred into the pasta before any of it goes in the pan is the difference between creamy at 8:15 and grainy at 8:15.
Penne boiled two minutes short, frozen broccoli dropped in for the last two, three cups of diced chicken, then 375F for twenty-five minutes. After practice it is foil on, twelve minutes, and a bag of Caesar.
Ingredients
The recipe serves 6. Plan on 12 minutes to reheat (assembled and baked earlier).
- 1 pound penne
- 1 jar (15 oz) Alfredo sauce
- 3 cups cooked diced chicken
- 3 cups frozen broccoli florets
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
How to Make It
- Earlier: boil the penne 2 minutes short of the package time, adding the frozen broccoli for the last 2 minutes, then drain.
- Stir together the pasta, broccoli, Alfredo sauce, milk, chicken, garlic powder, and 1 cup of the mozzarella.
- Spread it in a greased 9x13 pan, top with the remaining mozzarella and the Parmesan, and bake at 375F for 25 minutes until bubbling.
- After practice, reheat a portion until steaming hot, about 12 minutes in the oven or 2 minutes in the microwave.
Do the Slow Part Early
Build and bake the pan ahead so dinner is just a reheat. Stirring milk into the Alfredo keeps it from seizing up when it goes back in the oven.
- Cook the pasta and broccoli together and dice the chicken earlier
- Assemble and fully bake the pan in the afternoon
- Cool and cover it, or portion it into reheatable containers
Store and Reheat
Alfredo thickens as it sits, so loosen it with a splash of milk when you reheat so it stays creamy instead of pasty.
- Microwave a portion 2 minutes with a splash of milk, stirring once
- Oven from chilled: 375F for 12 minutes, covered with foil
- From frozen: 375F for 35 minutes, foil on, until the center steams
- Serve with: Caesar salad, breadsticks
Make it fit tonight
Small changes that make this one fit your night
Broccoli in the pasta water
Two minutes at the end of the boil saves you a whole second pot.
Another splash per portion
Add a tablespoon of milk when you reheat or it tightens on the plate.
Thirty-five minutes from frozen
375F under foil until the center steams, not just the corners of the dish.
Breadsticks at the same temperature
They bake at 375F too and come out when the pan does.
Diced rotisserie chicken
Three cups off a store bird skips cutting raw chicken on a school night.
Plan the next step
Plan your baked-ahead pans
Use the planner to keep a creamy bake ready for the weeks practice runs long.