Skillet Chicken, with Broccoli, Pasta, and Parmasean

Another one from mykitchencafe. I love trying out her recipes, it seems they always work for me. We LOVE this one. Each person in our family is excited when I make it, and it is great reheated too. She got this one from "The best skillet Recipes from Cook's Illustrated" cookbook. She adapted teh recipe to serve 4-6 people, and this amount was PLENTY for our family with plenty of leftovers.

I'll star any changes I made to her reicpe.

The Goods

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch squares

Table salt and ground black pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, minced

4 medium cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 package good seasons italian seasoning (optional)

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

12 ounces ziti

4 1/4 cups water

2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

4-5 cups broccoli florets

1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and chopped coarse *I didn't rinse mine. I LOVE the flavor of sun-dried tomatoes and this infused the oil perfectly.

3/4 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup grated parmesan

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. *I added some Good Seasons Italian seasoning the second time I cooked this and I think it added a bit to the flavor*. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook for 1 minute without stirring. Stir the chicken and continue to cook until most, but not all, of the pink color has disappeared and the chicken is lightly browned around the edges, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Transfer the chicken to a clean bowl and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan and then add your onion, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the skillet. Return the skillet to medium-high heat and cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened, 2 to 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, oregano, and pepper flakes, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the pasta, 3 cups of the water, and the broth. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. In her recipe she says that the broth will be thick and syrupy and almost all the way absorbed into the noodles. This has NEVER worked for me. It thickens a bit, but is never super syrupy. *The first time it worried me, and I tried to drain some of the broth, but then the final product wasn't "saucy" enough. The second time I just let it be and it ended up just fine. Don't worry if your broth isn't like syrup.* Add the broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes, and the remaining 1 1/4 cups water (I only add 1 cup)*. Cover, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the broccoli turns bright green and is almost tender, 2-3 minutes.Uncover and return the heat to medium-high. Stir in the cream, parmesan, and reserved chicken with any accumulated juices and continue to simmer, uncovered, until the sauce is thickened and the chicken is cooked and heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve, passing more grated parmesan at the table, if desired.