Pioneer Woman chicken Alfredo pasta Bake

I did a whole bunch of cooking yesterday, and boy are my skillets tired!

But seriously, it was one of those days. Big ol’ ham. A bunch of ham glaze. New Christmas cookie recipes. Gravy made with the ham juices. Drop biscuits, stuffed mushrooms, and then I looked at my kitchen and cried.

Then my boys came in and asked what was for dinner in the middle of the afternoon. Then I looked at them and cried.

Then I decided to whip up this easy skillet pasta dish! It’s one of my kids’ faves, I had everything I needed in my pantry and fridge, and it made them keep their grubby hands off my Christmas cookies, which I hadn’t had a chance to photograph yet, which is why they weren’t allowed to touch them.

Children of foodbloggers. They’re going to need a serious support group one day.

“My mom…made cookies…and pies…and cakes…and she wouldn’t let me eat them until she took their BLESSED PICTURE!!!!!!”

Start with a couple of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. The blank canvas of the meat world.

Melt a couple of tablespoons of butter in a large skillet…

Then throw in the chicken.

Cook the chicken in the buttah until it’s nice and golden and lovely…and totally done in the middle.

Remove the chicken from the skillet…

And slice it into strips!

And while you’re at the cutting board, mince up some garlic…

And throw it in the skillet with a little more butter.

Stir the garlic around and cook it for a minute or so, just to release all the heavenly awesomeness of the garlic…

Then grab a bottle of dry white wine from your bedside table.

Pour in a half a cup, give or take four gallons.

Did I just say that out loud?

I love cooking with wine, man.

Next, let the mixture bubble up and reduce a bit. And while it does, stand there and inhale the magic and give thanks for the homo sapien who first discovered that letting grapes ferment causes miracles to happen.

Oh! And you can use chicken broth if you drather!

Drather’s a word, you know. I larned it in school.

Anyway, once the liquid is reduced and a little thicker, close your eyes and take a moment. Things are about to get really good.

Grab some half and half and pour in a good amount.

And I know I do this in every post, but please believe me: My thumb does not look like this in real life! It just doesn’t. It’s the lighting! It’s the weather! It’s the position of Venus!

But I do have that round scar in real life. And do you want to know what it’s from?

A wart. I have a scar on my thumb from a wart. My dad burned it off at his office.

I was six.

Goodbye forever.

Next, splash in just a small amount of cream.

A small amount, because we’re making healthy choices here.

Ahem.

But seriously, you can definitely substitute milk for the half-and-half/cream—or at least sub milk for part of it if you want it not to be quite so rich. You’ll just want to let it cook quite a bit, and note that it won’t get as thick. But the Parmesan will help!

Whisk it all around so it’s all combined, then let it bubble and thicken up a bit.

Meanwhile, bawl up some bowtie pasta, which is one of my very favorite pastas in the world.

It has great crevices.

Sprinkle in a little salt and pepper and keep cooking it until it’s nice and thick. If it gets too thick, just splash in a little chicken broth here and there. Chicken broth is the paint thinner of the cooking world!

That’s a really disturbing thought.

Pasta’s ready!

And so am I.

Pour in a good amount of Parmesan. Grated, shaved…anything. I used the pre-shredded stuff in the plastic pot because I had it in my fridge and because I could. Made it an even quicker recipe!

Pour the hot pasta right on top of the Parmesan…

And start tossing it a bit.

Yum. Ohhhh, yum.

It was at this time that I deemed it appropriate to add more black pepper.

And then I tossed in the chicken…

And added some parsley!

My kids pretty much inhaled this.

And…uh…I might have inhaled a little myself.

Enjoy this super quick recipe, guys.

Here’s the handy dandy printable!

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