Chicken Mozzarella Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Description
This is a seriously delicious chicken and pasta meal. It is easy to make and is worth the little bit of extra time to make. Make it your own by adding mushrooms, onion and/or bacon!
Ingredients
3-4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 jar (3-4 oz.) sun-dried tomatoes in oil (drained and rinsed -but reserve 2 T. of this oil), or use 3-4 oz. fat-free sun- dried tomatoes
2 T. olive oil (if you don't have the reserved oil)
1 lb. chicken breast tenders
salt, to taste
paprika, dash
Italian seasoning, to taste
1 c. half and half
1 c. Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 c. asiago, romano and parmesan, your choice
8 oz. penne pasta
1 T. basil or to taste
1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes or to taste
1/2 c. reserved cooked pasta water (or more)
Directions
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In a large pan, on high heat, sautee garlic and sun-dried tomatoes in the reserved oil or in 2 T. olive oil for 1 minute until garlic is fragrant.
Remove sun-dried tomatoes from the pan, leaving the oil, and add chicken tenders. Salt and lightly covered chicken in paprika and cook on high heat for 1 minute on each side. Remove from heat.
Cook pasta in salted water according to package instructions. Reserve some cooked pasta water. Drain and rinse pasta with cold water to stop it from cooking.
Slice sun-dried tomatoes into smaller pieces and add them back to the skillet with chicken. Add half and half and cheese to the skillet, and bring to a gentle boil. Immediately reduce heat to simmer and cook, constantly stirring, until all cheese melts and creamy sauce forms. (If the sauce seems too thick, some cooked pasta water will be added soon.)
Add cooked and drained pasta to the skillet with the sauce, and stir to combine. Add basil, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine.
Slowly add up to 1/2 cup reserved cooked pasta wate in increments to the creamy sauce to decrease the thickness and make it more creamy. Season the pasta with salt and more red pepper flakes, to taste, if needed. A little more salt will bring out the basil and sun-dried tomato flavors.
Simmer for a few minutes so flavors combine. Serve.
Makes 4 servings.