Chicken and pasta bake. Pasta? Good. Chicken? Good. Broccoli? Meh. But other than that, what’s not to like?
If you’re looking for a simple, hearty dish, quick to make and quicker to eat, then look no further.

Ingredients

350g fusilli pasta
200g broccoli chopped into very small florets
2 chicken breasts
150g soft cheese with garlic and herbs
85g cheddar cheese
2 spring onions
4 tbsp sundried tomato paste
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp dried thyme
Salt
Pepper

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190c or Gas Mark 5
2. Bring a large pan of boiling water with salt and a dash of olive oil to boil. Add in the pasta and cook for 6 minutes. At this point, add in the broccoli and cook for a further 5 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked.
3. At the same time as the pasta is cooking, pre-heat a skillet pan to a medium/high heat. Lightly sprinkle the half of the thyme over one side of the chicken breasts, add salt and pepper to your tastes, and place that side down into the skillet. Sprinkle the remaining thyme, salt and pepper on the top of the chicken breasts as they are cooking. After 5-7 minutes, turn the chicken breasts over. After a further 5-7 minutes, remove from the pan and slice into even slithers.
4. Once the pasta/broccoli is cooked, drain, keeping the pasta/broccoli in the pan. Over a medium heat, add the chicken slices, cheese and sundried tomato paste into the pasta. Stir through until the cheese and tomato paste have coated all of the pasta.
5. Pour the pasta out into a large oven proof dish, and cover the top with the cheese and sprinkle the spring onions over this.
6. Place the dish into the oven, and heat through for 20 minutes.
7. Remove the dish from the oven, and dish onto plates for you to enjoy!

Note, you can add roasted pepper antipasti/sundried tomatoes or even olives into the pasta prior to heating through in the oven to vary the dish.

Roast Paprika Chicken with Tomatoes and Chickpeas

Looking for a simple chicken recipe to impress a potential date? Or maybe just looking for inspiring dinner party food? Then look no further, this dish is sure to have your guests and potential loved ones watering at the mouth. Best of all? This only take 45 minutes from opening the first pack to serving on a plate. Do you need any further reason to try it?

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 150g Greek yoghurt
• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 400g tin chickpeas, drained
• 300g cherry tomatoes
• 15g coriander
• Salt and Pepper

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius/gasmark 6.
2. Mix the garlic, cumin, paprika, red pepper and olive oil together in a bowl.
3. Next, add 1 teaspoon of the spice mixture to the yoghurt and whisk. Set this aside for the sauce.
4. Place chicken in a large baking tray. Rub 2 tablespoons of the spice oil mixture over the chicken.
5. Add the beans, tomatoes, and half the coriander to the remaining spice mixture and toss to coat.
6. Pour bean mixture around chicken. Sprinkle everything generously with salt and pepper.
7. Finally roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

To serve, plate up a chicken breast per person, spoon over the bean mixture, sprinkle some coriander on top of the chicken and place a dollop of yogurt on the side.

Delicious!