Chicken & Parm Pasta Skillet

Although I have a husband who really isn't that fond of pasta, I do cook it from time to time. He knows I love pasta and he doesn't mind me feeding my craving for it every now and then! He eats it too, even if he doesn't really like it all that much.

He is from the old school that eats what is put in front of him. And to be honest, even if it isn't his favourite he will be the first one to tell you that when I cook it, its not half bad and quite tolerable!

This is one of my favourite kinds of meals, an all in one dinner for two, with only a very few ingredients.

Pasta, sauce and protein cooking all in the same pan on top of the stove. I love cooking pasta this way. It doesn't get over cooked, staying al dente, and the pasta absorbs even more of the flavour from the sauce . . . it gets right in there . . .

I created this to use up leftover cooked chicken. It is semi-based on another recipe I saw for something similar here.

In looking at her recipe I thought to myself, why can't I use already cooked chicken cubed, instead of cutting up chicken breasts and browning them in the pan.

Why indeed? Although if you don't have leftover roast chicken use fresh by all means. For this recipe you could use two small chicken breast fillets. Just cut it up and cook it in the vinaigrette dressing as per the recipe, until the juices run clear.

You know about five years ago now, I came down with a bad case of food poisoning. I was so sick. That day I had eaten leftover pizza for breakfast and for dinner, Chicken Parmesan. Oh boy . . . I thought I would never be able to eat either one again in a very long time!

I will admit that I still feel a bit queasy when I am faced with Chicken Parmesan, with the breading and all . . . but this was quite good. There was no breading on the chicken, just plain roasted chicken.

Oh, I love breaded chicken . . . but not with marinara sauce and cheese . . . not yet anyways . . .

And there is plenty of cheese in this . . . look at that ooze . . .

So, so, so good . . .

Interestingly enough, I wasn't put off pizza for very long. Thank goodness! Its one of my favourite food groups!

Since then I have been extremely pedantic about leftovers. I was actually in bed for four days. I never want to be that sick again. I remember thinking that death would actually be welcome. You know you are really sick when death is welcome!

Anyways, not to put you off your food or anything . . . sorry if I have!! I have a rule of thumb now. Food that has been made in house, I have a 3 day rule as far as leftovers go. I don't keep any after 3 days.

And anything takeaway . . . I get rid of the leftovers on the day. I don't keep them at all.

I know it might seem a bit wasteful, but I never buy more than we can feasibly eat at once. (I am so not a Gilmore Girl.) You know . . . you never know how long the toppings in a Pizza place have been sitting around waiting to be used on pizzas, or even how clean the person is that is making them. That's why I don't like to see the people who cook my food in a restaurant. And also why I am really picky at Pot Lucks, unless I know exactly who has cooked what.

Yield: 2 - 3

Author: Marie Rayner