Pasta with Pesto Cream Sauce and Chicken

The wonderful Pioneer Woman posted this recipe awhile back. It made me swoon. I love simple pasta dishes. I whipped up a batch using the Pesto I made yesterday.

I also cooked some chicken and added on top. It made a perfect dinner.

What you need,

¾ cup of pesto

½ cup heavy cream

2 tbsp butter

¼ cup Parmesan cheese

12 oz of pasta, whatever shape you like!

2 whole tomatoes, diced

2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until el dente.

Heat the cream and butter in a sauce pan over medium- low heat until hot but not boiling. Add in the pesto and stir until combined.  Drain the pasta and place in a large serving bowl pour the hot sauce over the pasta and stir to combine. Toss in the chopped tomatoes and top with Parmesan cheese.

I cooked my chicken in the oven while I was making the sauce. I preheated my oven to 350 degrees and lined a baking sheet with tin foil. I rubbed the chicken breasts with a little olive oil and rubbed them with a very easy spice rub. Then I baked them for 25-30 minutes until they were cooked through. I have been cooking my chicken like this for the last while and I love it. It is flavourful and it gets a little brown and crispy and stays moist in the centre. You can cool it and use it later or I just cut it up warm and tossed it on top of the pasta! YUM!

For the spice rub I use,

½ tsp of course salt

¼ tsp fresh ground pepper

1 tsp chili powder

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp season salt

You can use any spices you like, if you like a little spice add in some cyan pepper, if you want a more Mexican flavour use a little cumin, some oregano would be great too!

I am a carboholic! I wouldn’t survive the Atkins diet. I loves me my pasta!

Jen

recipe from The Pioneer Woman