Freezer Meal: Pasta with Chicken, Lemon & White Wine
This is my go-to meal to take to a friend in need. A few notes: I especially love making this with leftover whole roasted chicken or spatchcocked chicken (recipe below). As noted in the recipe, however, many people love chicken breasts. Here's how to cook them: Heat the oven to 400ºF. Place three boneless skinless chicken breasts in a roasting pan. Coat them lightly with olive oil. Season them with salt and pepper on both sides. Tuck in any herbs you have -- rosemary and thyme are nice. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes or until just cooked through. You don't want to overdo it here because the whole mixture cooks together in a casserole pan for 25 minutes covered in foil. Err on the side of slightly under-cooking the chicken. If you are like me and prefer dark meat or like a mix of both dark and white meat, spatchcocked chicken works nicely here. See above for a recipe. If you're bringing this to a friend, a nice addition is a loaf of bread because there is lots of nice sauce to sop it all up with along with a simple salad and a shallot vinaigrette. If passing the meal off to a friend: Place all of the ingredients in a disposable foil roasting pan or a resealable freezer bag. This meal can be frozen for up to 3 months. Label and date and provide reheating instructions: Thaw in refrigerator overnight before baking. Bake covered in foil for 20 to 25 minutes.
- Prep time
- 1 hr
- Cook time
- 25 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1/2 lb shells
- 1 1/2 lbs. cooked chicken*
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
- zest of one lemon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- freshly cracked pepper to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2/3 cup white wine
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- 1
Place a large pot of water on to boil. Cook pasta al dente — I cook it very al dente because the pasta eventually bakes for 25 minutes covered in foil. Drain and set aside.
- 2
Dice chicken (or shred if you’re using roast chicken) and set aside.
- 3
Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl and whisk to blend.
- 4
If passing along to a friend, see notes above. Otherwise, preheat the oven to 350º F. Place pasta and chicken in a 9×13-inch baking dish. Pour sauce over top. Toss to combine. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until everything is nicely heated through.