Thursday, September 17, 2009

Grilled Chicken Pasta in a Tomato Cream Sauce

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Sorry that I haven't posted anything in awhile. We didn't have the money to go grocery shopping last week, so I didn't have any ingredients to make anything new!

This pasta was so delicious. I've never cooked with fresh herbs before, and they adding such amazing flavor, that it inspired me to grow my own herb garden. I will definitely be doing that sometime in the future, so be watching for a post on that.

On to last night's dinner:


1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Montreal Steak seasoning
1/2 pound penne pasta
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup chicken broth
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 to 1 tsp salt & pepper (to taste)
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
6-8 fresh basil leaves, chiffonaded*

Rinse chicken breasts in cold water. Layer between sheets of wax paper and pound to even thickness. Season both sides with Montreal Steak seasoning. Preheat grill for medium high heat, lightly oil grate, and grill chicken breasts on medium high heat for 6-8 mins each side.

OR heat 2 tbsp butter & 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the butter and olive oil is nice and hot, add chicken breasts and cook 5 mins each side.

Set chicken aside to cool.

In a large pot, boil water with 1 tbsp salt. Add 1/2 lb penne pasta noodles and boil according to package directions.

Heat 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is tender, but do not let the garlic turn brown (about 3-5 mins).

Add the chicken broth to the pan and allow to reduce by half. Meanwhile, slice chicken.

Once the broth has reduced, stir in tomato sauce. Add the heavy cream and stir well to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn heat to low.

Chop the parsley and basil, add to sauce and mix well. Drain pasta and add to sauce. Stir well to coat. Serve pasta on plates, top with sliced chicken.

*If you're wondering what chiffonaded means, it means to stack the basil leaves on top of one another, roll them up (like you're a kid making a telescope out of paper) and thinly slice the leaves.

Also I got this recipe from kevinandamanda.com. She takes beautiful step-by-step pictures, so be sure to check it out HERE!

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