How Did My Family React to Grilled Chicken Penne Al Fresco?

[esavvymom]

I tried this last night at the request of my son who wanted to "Try a new recipe" and he liked the picture on the cover of the SB.

It was delicious!! My 8yr old son and DH went back for seconds, and even my picky 5yr old son ate it and loved it.

Cook Tips: :chef:
when you cook the cherry tomatoes and get to the step with the Mix-n-chop..BE CAREFUL! Those puppies are HOT when they burst open. So don't just smash at them with the MNC. CAREFULLY pop those babies. I had a few squirt me, and since they were microwaved,, they are HOT!!!! I burnt my wrist doing that. And wear your apron.

I used just chicken broth, no wine. I substituted the extra 3/4 cup chicken broth for the wine as noted in the recipe tips. It was pretty runny with extra liquid, but that may get soaked up with the leftovers. But it didn't ruin the dish- just meant serve it with a slotted spoon.


WW pts- for anyone interested: 5pts for 1 cup. Not bad!! Add a slice of garlic bread for 2-3 pts and a salad for a great healthy meal!

 

[StacieB]

I agree very yummy. Hubby wasn't a fan though. He likes pasta more saucy.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I agree very yummy. Hubby wasn't a fan though. He likes pasta more saucy.

That was the consensus at my house. We're all saucy folks.

 

[letscook04]

I agree very yummy. Hubby wasn't a fan though. He likes pasta more saucy.

I tried it with a can of crushed tomatoes it seemed to have more sauce!

 

[teresah551393]

I heard someone say they added alfredo sauce at the end, sounds good. Would it work better on the tomato issue if you cut them in half before microwaving?

 

[missyciccolella]

I cooked the 1st time with Rigatoni, and the 2nd time Mezze Penne like the recipe called for...had too much liquid with the Rigatoni, but very little with the penne...I did add a bit more pasta the 2nd go round though.

I agree the tomatoes can be problematic...at my show, the juice hit the wall. Luckily the host laughed it off...I think in the future I'll cook 1 more minute on the tomatoes in hopes more will burst in the microwave instead of on the wall! LOL

 

[funinyourkitchen]

This was the 1st recipe I cooked at home with the DCB & I had the same 'runny' issue. My hubby said I can cook it again b/c we added LOTS of garlic which made it wonderful but I had to figure out something with the runniness.

I haden't thought about doing this at a show...seems like quite a bit of work for a show, maybe thats because I'm a newbie.

 

[wadesgirl]

I agree very yummy. Hubby wasn't a fan though. He likes pasta more saucy.

I'm normally a saucy pasta person but I loved this recipe!As for the runiness, after it sat for a while, it was better.Someone also recommended in our group to make sure to cook the tomatoes until they burst that way you don't have to worry about them burning you!

 

[esavvymom]

I'll try the tomato thing next time- since I think I only had them in the micro about 2.5-3 minutes...since the recipe "until" they start to burst. I heard them popping, so thought it was ok.But as far as the runniness- it definitely is NOT a factor for leftovers. It was still moist-enough, but no juices. They were absorbed into the pasta, and the dish was just as good the second time around. Obviously at a show, you probably won't have leftovers. Oh, and I had used a macaroni noodle- not elbow, it was called something else- it was long- with just a SLIGHT curve- almost straight noodle, but not quite- maybe an 1" long, so very similar to penne.