Tortellini with chicken and vegetables

In my house, everyone has different tastes. I have a daughter who apparently is going through some kind of love affair with broccoli — fine by me! My husband is the carnivore, and I pretty much just want something decently healthy that tastes awesome — meat optional.

It gets difficult trying to make something different for everyone, but last night I found a way to throw together a meal in almost no time that pleased pretty much everyone’s palates. I had a couple of baked chicken thighs left over from a couple of nights ago, along with a few different veggies waiting to get used up. Combine that with a package of cheese tortellini I had almost forgotten I even had, and my dinner dilemma was solved.

Tortellini with Chicken and Vegetables

Ingredients:

1/2 lb cheese-stuffed tortellini
olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced or put through a garlic press
1 small head of broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces and rinsed
6 mushrooms, cleaned and sliced or quartered
1/2 young zucchini, quartered and thinly sliced
2 cooked chicken thighs, bones removed and in bite-sized pieces
sea salt and black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup fresh chopped herbs, like parsley or basil (optional)
freshly grated parmesan cheese, optional

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta. While that’s heating, in a large saute pan over medium-low heat add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pot, and the garlic. Don’t let it burn!

Add the rest of the vegetables, some salt and pepper, and give it a good toss to coat everything. Cover and let it cook for at least 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. I like to let everything get a little browned and crispy, but if that’s not your style, lower the heat or add a few tablespoons of water to the pan, and check it often.

When the veggies are tender, add the chicken just to heat through, and the herbs if using.

When the pasta water is boiling, add the tortellini and cook until al dente, usually only a few minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta.

Add the tortellini right into the saute pan with the chicken and vegetables along with half of the reserved pasta water. If it still seems dry, add a little more. That’s all there is to it! The parmesan cheese is really optional in this case because the dish already has so much flavor, but I almost always have some grated to pass around the table when I’m serving pasta. I also tend to sprinkle cayenne pepper on top of everything on my plate, but that’s a different story.

I eat almost everything with a green salad, lazy style, but if you’re feeling really lazy, this dish has enough veggies not to feel guilty about skipping it. And it was pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.