Spicy Chicken and Broccoli Pasta

You can get a head start on this meal by cutting your chicken up into bite sized pieces before freezing it. 



Ingredients
1 pound chicken breast, skinless and boneless, cut into 1 inch cubes
salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon olive oil
8­ oz spiral pasta 
2 cups fresh broccoli cut into bite sized pieces
 1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
 1/2 teaspoon dry basil
 1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 slices bacon, cooked, drained of fat, chopped





 Instructions
 1. Season both chicken breast halves generously with salt and 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on high ­medium heat in a large skillet. Add seasoned chicken breast halves and cook until no longer pink inside. Remove from skillet.  Set aside.

 3. Cook pasta in salted water according to package instructions. Add broccoli to pasta during the last 3 minutes of cooking. Drain and rinse with cold water.

 4. To the same skillet that the chicken was cooked in, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 cloves of minced garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes ­ cook on medium heat for 1 minutes until garlic is fragrant. Add tomato sauce, 1/2 teaspoon dry basil, stir and bring to boil ­ immediately reduce to simmer and simmer for 10 minutes, covered. Add shredded mozzarella cheese to the sauce and stir to melt until cheese is completely melted and the sauce thickens ­ 30 seconds. With heat on simmer, add 1/2 cup heavy cream and stir to combine.

 5. Add cooked and rinsed pasta, broccoli, cooked sliced chicken, and half of chopped cooked bacon to the sauce. Mix to combine.  Top with remaining bacon.