Broccoli Noodles |Cooking With Amanda

I am loving my Instant Pot these days. A lot. These broccoli noodles were super easy, and came together in less than an hour. When you are starting with frozen chicken breasts, that is quite the accomplishment!

I like to buy my chicken breasts in bulk, and then freeze them in dinner-size portions. For several of those portions, I cube the chicken before I freeze it. That makes it cook much more evenly, even from frozen.

This dinner is probably the meal that gets the most vegetables into my kids in one sitting... ever. Even with "broccoli" in the actual title, they ALL love this. I'm sure the cheese and noodles have something to do with that, but really? I'm not complaining. Or questioning.

That's the thing about having a million kids: Your odds for having someone totally hate whatever you happen to put in front of them are pretty much 100%. You develop a really thick skin, really quickly.

That also means that at least a couple of them will like it though, too. Some days I just want to quit with dinner altogether and I do, but I have a few dishes up my sleeve that I know all of them will at least eat with minimal complaint. This is one of those.

Packed with broccoli and vegetables, and made from real ingredients - I don't even feel bad about giving this to my kids.

Using my Instant Pot speeds up the process a ton, which I love. It is optional though. You could definitely make this on the stovetop instead. I'd suggest starting with thawed chicken in that case though.

As always, feel free to experiment a bit if you'd like. I've used Colby Jack cheese in this with delicious results. Add in your favorite herbs, or toss in some extra vegetables. My cheesy vegetable soup would also be a great base for this dish.

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Broccoli Noodles Recipe

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Ingredients

2 tablespoons canola oil
3 large chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
3-4 cups chicken broth, or enough to cover the chicken in your instant pot
16 ounces egg noodles, cooked al dente
4 cups broccoli, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
1/2 cup onion, sliced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup flour
1 cup heavy cream
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

Start by putting oil into the bottom of your pressure cooker, and setting it to Saute. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic salt, and brown it on both sides. If your chicken is frozen, just brown whatever parts happen to touch the bottom of the pan. Some browning is better than no browning.
After you get some color on the chicken, add in the chicken broth. You need enough to make sure that the chicken is covered, especially if it is frozen. Set your pressure cooker to manual, and time it for 2 minutes if thawed, or 5 minutes if frozen.
If your chicken was in a big frozen slab, you may need to run another 1-2 minute pressure cooking cycle. It is okay if the chicken is not 100% cooked through. We're going to cook this some more in just a bit.
Use the quick release feature, and carefully remove the chicken from the cooker. Let it cool a bit, and then do a quick chop to cut it up into bite-sized pieces. Remove into a baking dish that's been prepped with cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Add the cooked egg noodles into the baking dish with the chicken. Set aside. Add in your vegetables into the chicken's cooking liquid, and run another 1 minute pressure cook cycle.
Remove the cooking liquid and vegetables from the pot into separate bowls.
Using the saute feature, place your butter and flour into the pot and whisk together until there are no lumps. Continue stirring while cooking for about 1-2 minutes.
Add the cooking liquid back into the pot, whisking to combine. Simmer, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Simmer until slightly thickened.
Using a stick blender, blend the sauce until smooth. Stir in the cream, and pour over the chicken and noodles. Top with the shredded cheese, cover tightly with tin foil, and bake at 350°F for 20-30 minutes.