Prep time: 2 minutes
Cook time: 8–10 minutes
Total time: About 10 minutes
Serves: 2–3 very tired adults
Difficulty: Can be made while running on three hours of sleep
Ingredients
- 8 oz pasta
- 1 cup frozen broccoli
- 1 cup cooked rotisserie chicken, shredded (Costco has this prepackaged for convenience)
- ½ cup jarred Alfredo sauce or pesto
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella or Parmesan
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Optional: garlic powder, red pepper flakes, or lemon juice
Directions
- Boil the pasta according to the package directions. Step away from the stove when possible – sleep deprivation and stoves don’t mix well every time.
- Add the broccoli during the last 2–3 minutes of cooking.
- Drain everything.
No need for a separate pot. One less dish is one less dish. - Put the pasta and broccoli back in the pot.
- Add the chicken, sauce, and olive oil or butter.
Stir until everything is warm and coated. - Add the cheese.
Stir again. - Season if you have the energy.
If not, congratulations—you’ve made dinner.
Newborn-Parent Shortcut
Keep these three things in the house:
Rotisserie chicken + frozen vegetables + jarred sauce
They can become pasta, rice bowls, quesadillas, wraps, or sandwiches with almost no effort.
The “Baby Just Woke Up” Version
If you only have 5 minutes, don’t bother making the pasta.
Heat the chicken and broccoli, put them over microwaveable rice, add sauce and cheese, and eat.
If you only have 2 minutes?
Eat the chicken straight from the container while standing in the kitchen.
This is not the season for culinary perfection.
It’s the season for feeding yourself before you realize it’s 3:00 p.m. and you’ve been surviving on coffee and the crusts your toddler didn’t eat.
Newborn Parent Rule #2
Make dinner once. Eat it twice.
Double the recipe whenever you can.
Tomorrow’s lunch doesn’t need to be another decision.
Just open the refrigerator.
There it is.
Dinner-you just saved tomorrow-you.
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