Fideo Pasta, Chicken and Vegetable One-Skillet Meal
An easy and delicious one-skillet meal with fideo pasta, chicken and vegetables to enjoy any day of the week
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 2 medium to large-size boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces (about 1-inch pieces)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the Vegetables:
- 1 cup coarsely chopped green bell pepper (about a medium size green bell pepper)
- 1 cup coarsely chopped red bell pepper (about a medium size red bell pepper)
- 1 cup coarsely chopped onion (white or yellow onion)
- 1 medium-size jalapeno pepper (stems and seeds removed, and chopped) (add more chopped jalapeno if a spicier taste is preferred)
- 4 large cloves garlic peeled and finely chopped
- 1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 dashes salt
- 2 dashes ground black pepper
For the Pasta:
- Sautéed vegetables (from above)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 package (7.05 ounces) fideo cut pasta (also known as cut fideo, fideos, fideo noodles, cut vermicelli)
- 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 heaping teaspoon dried oregano
- 2-1/2 cups chicken broth or water
- 3 dashes salt (or to taste)
- 3 dashes ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons butter
- Cooked chicken (from above)
For the Toppings:
- 2 to 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- Sliced green onions optional
- Chopped cilantro optional
- Drizzles of fresh lime juice optional
Equipment
- Large skillet
Instructions
For the Chicken:
- To a bowl or plate, add the cut pieces of chicken, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix together until the chicken is coated with the ingredients. Heat a large skillet on medium heat and add the chicken. Using a spatula, spread out the chicken so that each piece is touching the pan.
- Let the chicken cook (without stirring it) until the bottom sides of the chicken are browned (about 1-1/2 minutes). Then using tongs or a spatula, turn the pieces of chicken over to brown the other side. If the chicken is cooking too fast, turn the heat down and stir the chicken.
- After the chicken is browned and thoroughly cooked, turn the heat off and remove the pan from the burner. Transfer the chicken into a bowl or plate and set it aside while cooking the vegetables and fideo.
For the Vegetables:
- Heat the same pan that the chicken was cooked in on medium heat. To the pan, add olive oil. Then add the chopped vegetables (don't add the garlic yet). Stir the vegetables as they cook. Add salt and pepper. Stir.
- Let cook until the vegetables start to turn translucent (about 5 to 6 minutes). Then, using a spatula, move the vegetables to the outside edges inside of the pan so that there's an empty space in the middle. Turn the heat down just a little bit (so the vegetables don't get too brown while the fideo is toasting).
For the Fideo Pasta:
- To the empty area in the middle of the pan, add olive oil. Using a spatula, spread the olive oil around the empty area. To the middle of the pan, add the fideo pasta. Drizzle olive oil on top of the pasta.
- Using a spatula or large spoon, continuously stir the pasta. Keep stirring the pasta as starts to brown. Keep a close eye on the pasta so that it doesn't burn. If the pan gets too hot, remove it from the burner and keep stirring the pasta.
- Once the fideo noodles start to brown, add the chopped garlic to the pan. Stir. To the pan, add the canned tomatoes and broth (or water). Stir. If the pan isn't large enough to add all of the broth, add as much as possible and then as the broth reduces, add the remaining amount to the pan.
- When the liquid starts to reduce, add the butter, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir together. To the pan, add the cooked pieces of chicken and stir together. Do a quick taste test and add more salt if needed.
- Serve warm. There should be some liquid left in the pasta mixture when serving. If there's not enough broth left in the skillet, just stir in more chicken broth or water.
For the Toppings:
- Top with grated Parmesan cheese. And optional toppings include drizzles of fresh lime juice, chopped green onions or chopped cilantro.
Notes
TIPS:
- If the chicken is cooking too fast, turn the heat down and stir the chicken.
- Keep a close eye on the pasta as it browns and continually stir so that it doesn't burn. If the pan gets too hot, remove it from the burner and keep stirring the pasta.
- If the pan isn't large enough to add all of the broth, add as much as possible and then as the broth reduces, add the remaining amount to the pan.
- There should be some liquid left in the pasta mixture when serving. If there's not enough broth left in the skillet, just stir in more chicken broth or water.