Although at the weekend we may spend a little longer cooking for mid-week family meals I try and make it possible to cook quickly and easily in under 40 minutes. This Chicken Carbonara Recipe is perfect as it's ready in 35 minutes and tastes amazing.
Whole Chicken Breast Carbonara Recipe
Chicken is one of the main meats we each. We are especially lucky that our local butchers have skinned chicken breasts and unlike the ones, in the supermarket, they don't decrease in size by much when cooked.
Chicken is also one of the few things that the whole family will eat. This dish is a family favourite.
Although - for the boys, we tend to half the sauce and in their half skip the cheese as they really don't like it (I know crazy right)!
Although we've served it with Spaghetti here we use whichever pasta we have to hand. If you make it with penne pasta then the sauce gets inside the tubes as you mix it with the pasta and it tastes amazing.
More Chicken Family Meal Ideas
As I said above we eat chicken regularly but we do find it boring having the same chicken dish time and time again so for our family meal plans we mix it up. Here are a few of our favourite chicken family dinner ideas that even our fussy eaters approve of.
Chicken Pot Pie is one of our favourites in the winter. It's easy to cook up, we can freeze the filling and then use ready-made puff pastry to seal the top. We even make mini individual chicken pot pies ones if people are arriving home late or at different times.
Dishes you can through together into a tray and cook are another favourite for mid-week family meals and our Cuban Chicken Traybake is so easy. It takes minutes to prep and then you just let it cook.
Another quick and easy meal idea for the family is our sheet pan fajitas. These can be prepared ahead and put in the freezer in the tray to come and out and cook as needed. Served with homemade guacamole, sour cream and sala with tortillas it's perfect for mid-week.
More Pasta Dinners for Families
Pasta is another family favourite so we tend to have different pasta dishes and have started to share some of our favourites.
Making Lasagna with Ravioli is a super quick way to get a delicious meal on the table. You can use your own Tomato Sauce or you can use a jar of store-bought sauce it's up to you.
Possibly the easiest meal and our goto is our quick and easy Bolognese Sauce for pasta. I can make it in under 30 minutes and because I normally double the recipe there is usually some in the freezer that can be bought out and reheated when we need something really quick.
Our Beef Cannelloni with 2 types of cheese can be made ahead and baked on the day. A simple freezer meal that is ideal for families.
Love chicken with your pasta then check out this Chicken and Pea Pasta Bake from 3 Boys and a Dog.
Chicken Carbonara for Mid-Week Family Meals
Equipment
- Meat Pounder
- Frying Pan (skillet)
- Wooden Spatula
- Measuring Jug
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- 5 strips smoked bacon chopped
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 small onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 500 ml milk
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch combined with 2 tablespoons cold water
- 112 g shredded mozzarella cheese
- 45 g grated parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Using a meat pounder, pound the chicken breasts until thin and flat. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- In a large frying pan, cook chopped bacon until crisp. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add butter to pan. When butter is melted, place chicken in the pan with the bacon grease and butter. Sear both sides of the chicken and remove from pan.
- Add onions and garlic and cook until translucent.
- Pour milk into pan and deglaze by scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula. Stir to combine ingredients, then place chicken back into pan.
- Cook over medium low heat for 20 minutes. Pour in the cornstarch mixture and stir to combine. Simmer for 5 more minutes.
- Remove from heat and add the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Stir until the cheese is melted and the sauce is well combined.
- Add the bacon bits to the pan and stir to combine.
- If serving over pasta, add cooked pasta to pan and toss with sauce. Serve with chicken on top of sauced pasta.
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Cerys Parker
Cerys is a marine biologist, environmental educator, high school teacher and mum. Realising that life doesn't have to be put on hold and you don't just have to survive whilst the kids are young she shares ideas to inspire you to LIVE with the kids, with activities to do together, recipes to cook and enjoy and family travel to make memories to last a lifetime.
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