You can make this dish with leftover chopped or shredded chicken, or chicken sausage (I used Trader Joe’s Chicken Sausage with Sundried Tomatoes). I used the latter because I didn’t have time to cook chicken and I had no leftovers.

After you’ve chopped about 3 cups of cooked chicken or 16 oz. of chicken sausage, peel, crush, and chop four cloves of garlic and set aside. Next, skin or peel, chop, and set aside the following: 1 onion, five carrots, a carton of white button mushrooms, and a bunch of fresh broccoli florets (or use a 10 oz. bag of frozen broccoli). Fill a pot with water to boil your pasta (I used a 16 oz. bag of whole wheat penne pasta). Follow the instructions that come with the pasta.

While the water is heating for the pasta, you can start cooking the chicken sausage and vegetables. First, heat two tbsp. of olive oil over medium heat and sauté the garlic. After a minute, put in the chicken sausage (if you’re using cooked chicken, put the vegetables in first) and cook for about three minutes and then put in the onions. At this time, you might find sausage sticking to the pan, so put in ¼ cup of white wine or water, and keep stirring. After about a minute, put in the carrots, mushrooms, and broccoli. After about 2 minutes, pour in a carton of Trader Joe’s 11 oz. Condensed Cream of Portabella Mushroom Soup. Put about a ¼ cup of water in the carton and swish it around to get all the mushroom soup residue clinging inside the carton and then pour over the vegetables and chicken sausage. Stir well.

Depending on how tender you want your vegetables, you can cover your skillet and time it for five minutes or less. If you do this, be sure to turn the heat to medium low so you don’t have your food sticking to the skillet. You will probably want to stir it occasionally. Afterwards, the vegetables and chicken or chicken sausage will be heated through and the vegetables will be at their desired texture. Turn off the heat and stir in a dollop of sour cream if you had put in white wine earlier to add liquid to the mixture, or a dollop of Greek yogurt if you used water.

After your pasta is cooked and drained, put the pasta into a big mixing bowl and pour in the chicken and vegetable mixture. Stir and serve by sprinkling the top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Mangia bene!