Rainbow Farfalline with Pulled Chicken and Broccoli

Smaller box of pasta + shredded chicken + LOTS of broccoli =
FULL plate + FULL belly + FULL wallet!

Oh cream sauce, how I love thee! I adore alfredo sauce but it is so buttery and cheesy and nobody ever lost weight on a butter and cheese diet. This was amazing and so easy to make. I made the bulk of it on hold with a company for the bazillionth time.

There's an Italian specialty store near me who sells this rainbow bowtie pasta and I think it's just the cutest thing (I love everything rainbow). However, at $11.99/bag it's just not in my budget and therefore, it's not in my belly! Enter Costco. Costco with all of it's increasing organic selection has started carrying a 2 pack of Torino organic bowtie pasta for $4.99. The 2 pack consists of 8.8 oz boxes, one of which is rainbow striped and the other is solid colored. I had a giant head of broccoli from my D2DO order this week and couldn't wait to use it! Trick your mind into eating a stuffed plate by adding lots of broccoli and shredding the chicken. Plus, the box of pasta is only 8.8oz as opposed to the traditional 16 oz in a standard box.

For this recipe you will need:
2 large split chicken breasts (or about 1 lb chicken)
8 oz pasta (I used Torino organic rainbow farfalline)
4C lowfat milk (I used 1%)
4 Tbsp butter
1/4C grated parmesan
1 large broccoli head (or about 3C florets)
3 cloves garlic

In a large pot, bring 2 garlic cloves and water to a boil. Add chicken breast and boil for approximately 1 hour. Remove from water and set on a plate to cool enough to pull. Set aside.

In another large pot (unless you wash out the first, which I did) bring salted water to a boil for the pasta. Make sure there is enough water as we will be adding the broccoli to the water eventually as well. Bring remaining clove of garlic and water to a boil. Add pasta. Pasta will need to cook for 10-12 minutes, so while there is roughly 5-7 minutes left, add the broccoli (depending if you used florets or if you used stalks as well. less time for florets).

In a smaller pot, melt butter and whisk in 2 Tbsp flour (I used King Arthur Organic). Once it is whisked to a pasty consistency, SLOWLY whisk in milk and simmer on a medium/low heat, stirring frequently. Mixture will thicken as it increases in temperature. Add 1/4C parmesan and whisk to melt and incorporate. I love giving it a final combover with my immersion blender. It makes everything super smooth and consistent.

This makes roughly 6 servings.

Each serving contains approximately:
Calories: 409
Fat: 15
Carbs: 41
Dietary Fiber: 1
Sugar: 2
Protein: 27