Lighter Chicken Penne Alla Vodka

Pronto by Barilla is a brand new kind of pasta that helps you make "one pot" pasta dishes without having to wait for the water to boil before adding the pasta.  You can either use water to cook the pasta (no draining required) or cook it directly in whatever sauce you are preparing.  There are five different shapes available so you can make it work with almost any pasta dish.

The great thing about Pronto is that you don't have to worry about the pasta becoming gummy or chewy on the outside while remaining too hard on the inside, which is what usually happens when you add pasta to a liquid before it has begun to boil.  I put it to the test the other night when I indulged a craving for Penne alla Vodka.

I started by studying a Skinnytaste recipe but then made some pretty significant changes due to either our preferences or needing to use up some random ingredients in our fridge and pantry.  I used tomato sauce instead of diced tomatoes because we prefer a thicker base sauce instead of the chunks of tomato.  I used onion instead of shallots because I needed to use up an onion, and I added chicken instead of prosciutto for the same reason.  Final ingredient swap was to use 2% milk instead of half 'n half to make it even lighter and, again, I had some that we needed to use!

Instead of cooking the pasta separately and serving it with the sauce I converted this into a "one pot" pasta dish using Barilla Pronto Penne.  This was a delicious and hearty dinner and when you measure it out into 6 equal servings (a generous 1 ⅓ cup) you are at about 350 calories - perfect!  Serve it up with a simple salad or green vegetable and you've got a great balanced meal.  Matt loved this and requested that I make it again and again.

I hope you enjoy!

Lighter Chicken Penne Alla Vodka

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5 from 1 review

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• Total Time: 40 mins
• Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

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• 1lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• ½ cup onion, finely chopped
• ⅛ tsp red pepper flakes
• 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
• 8oz can tomato sauce
• ⅔ cup of water
• ½ cup vodka
• ½ cup 2% milk
• 1 heaping TBS dry basil
• 8oz uncooked Barilla Pronto penne pasta

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Instructions

1. Heat a large saute pan on medium low heat, spray with cooking spray.
2. Add the onion and cook until translucent and soft.
3. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for an additional minute.
4. Pour in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, vodka, and some salt and pepper.
5. Cover and cook at a low simmer for about 10 minutes.
6. Add the pasta and water and stir to coat with sauce, replace lid and continue to cook an additional 10-12 minutes.
7. Add basil, milk, and cooked chicken. Mix well and cook another 5-8 minutes or until pasta has reached al dente consistency.
8. Serve topped with grated Parmesan cheese.

• Author: Erin Browne
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins

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I received packages of Barilla Pronto to test as part of my Smiley 360 membership.  I do not accept complimentary product or compensation in return for a fully positive review.  Remember our motto: if it sucks, I'll tell ya!