Peas and Disease
This is a recipe based on food one of my roommates in college and I created. The name is actually as misnomer – there should be no disease in this food, but the name is based off of a Sanford and Son joke:
Julio: Buenos Dias, Mr. Sanford.
Fred Sanford: And beans and disease to you, too.
There was a release of this show on video around this time (1997-1998) and the commercial for the set was in heavy rotation during the later hours. So clearly, when we bought chicken breast, frozen peas, frozen broccoli, egg noodles and a jar of Alfredo sauce, we had to name the resulting food after that line. If it makes you feel better, call it chicken alfredo with peas and broccoli.
Peas and Disease:
(serves 2-3)
~1lb skinless boneless chicken breast
2 tbsp olive oil
1 package egg noodles
1 cup broccoli florets (fresh preferably)
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 small onion, finely diced (about 1/4 cup)
1 tbs dried herbs (oregano and basil)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil, and once it starts to shimmer, add the chicken breast. Cook until done, about 8 to 10 minutes. Move to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Drain the fat from the pan and return to the heat.
Add the noodles to the boiling water. Begin steaming the broccoli. Microwave the peas with 1/4 tsp water for about 1 minute.
Add the butter to the pan. Once it melts add the garlic and onion. Cook until the onion is tranlucent, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the flour and stir for 30 seconds. Turn the heat down to low and slowly stir in the cream, and stirring constantly slowly add the cream. Add the pepper, herbs and nutmeg. Stir in the parmesan. Once the cheese melts turn the heat back to medium and allow it to boil briefly to thicken the sauce. While the sauce is heating, cut the chicken in to bite sized peices.
Add the peas, chicken and broccoli to the sauce. Serve over the noodles.
