Three main food groups.

Kelsie Mann
Apr 19, 2022
2 min read

Updated: Jun 13, 2022

Grilled chicken breast, garlic pasta, and sautéed rapini.

Vegetable, carbs, and protein? That’s the kind of balanced dinner I strive for. The chicken can be made many different ways, and the pasta and rapini are quick weeknight side options. When I want something warm and comforting, this is definitely my go-to meal.

This meal consists of three recipes, but only requires one pot, a pan, and a grill (or oven, if you’d prefer.)

The garlic pasta is from Damn Delicious. It’s a great one pot recipe cooking the pasta directly in the garlic broth.

Note: I usually need to add extra broth. Sometimes I add more milk instead of water, depends on my desire for creaminess, and I always add extra parsley. Turn off the burner when there’s still a little liquid left. The pasta will absorb it as it cools, so it’s not sticky when you’re putting away leftovers—assuming there are leftovers, of course.

The rapini is a quick recipe I designed. For the rapini, I cut off the stems and roughly chop the leaves. Rinse the leaves with some water, and pat dry with a paper towel. I drizzle some olive oil to a pan that’s warmed on medium, then add about 2 cloves of freshly minced garlic. Be careful not to burn the garlic; it turns brown rather quickly! Then toss in the rapini seasoned with some salt and pepper—it’ll soften quickly. Keep tossing it to get it cooked evenly. Usually only takes a few minutes.

Note: I prefer my rapini more bitter tasting, so once it softens, I usually turn off the burner. My husband prefers it to be cooked longer, about 10 minutes on medium-low. Sometimes I add about a 1/4 cup vegetable or chicken stock to the pan to help it simmer down and take out some of the bitterness.

The chicken is a recipe from Well Plated. I decided to grill the chicken instead of use my oven, but their recipe for the oven works great, too. The most important step is to brine your chicken. It doesn’t take long, and definitely increases the juiciness of your meat.

Note: I used garlic powder, cayenne, onion powder, and pepper. I did not rinse my chicken from the brine, so I felt I didn’t need to use additional salt. I also used chicken breast cutlets, so they were already thin when I bought them. The seasonings are totally flexible based on what you’re pairing the meat with. I felt the garlic pasta and garlic rapini needed more garlic from the chicken and some heat from the cayenne. Never too much garlic, right?

Want more veggies? I often boil or roast some carrots to add to my plate, too. Adds a bit more color and nutrition!

That’s it. Scoop some pasta on to your plate and top with the rapini and some sliced chicken. One plate. One meal.