I am an amazing cook.

When I look for a recipe online, my Google keywords are usually the ingredients I have available. Because I looked up cream, broccoli, chicken and pasta, I found this recipe.

As usual, I had to adapt, and let me just say, I am really awesome at that!

Ingredients

• Chicken thighs: I like these because they’re not as dry as chicken breast. Next time I think thigh fillets would be better.
• Olive oil
• Garlic: chopped and peeled
• Chili flakes
• Pasta: Penne or spirals
• Broccoli: Fresh would be best. I used frozen broccoli though.
• Cream or evaporated milk: Alaska has evap that comes with beef or chicken flavor. I used the chicken evap.
• Cheese: The recipe called for parmesan but I only had shredded cheddar. I used maybe half a cup.

Procedure

1. Pre-heat oven. In a baking dish, arrange chicken thighs and chopped garlic. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and chili flakes. Bake for about 45 to 90 minutes, depending on thickness and size of pieces. Turn the pieces regularly (maybe every 20 minutes) to make sure it’s cooked evenly.
2. On the stove, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add broccoli and let simmer for about 5 minutes.
3. Remove broccoli from water but do not drain the pot. You can boil the pasta in the same water.
4. Optional: In a pan, heat some olive oil and cook broccoli for about 2 minutes on each side, for a little bit of crunch.
5. When pasta is cooked, drain the pot. Add broccoli to the cooked pasta.
6. Add cream and cheese to pasta and broccoli. Mix well.
7. Remove garlic from baking dish and mix with pasta.
8. Chicken can be served on top of pasta or separately, if you don’t want it to get soggy.

I don’t normally cook with chili flakes, but the mild spice on the chicken mixed with the creamy pasta is just divine. And I think the baked garlic makes the pasta just perfect.

Enjoy!