I shared a couple of dessert recipes last week, so I thought I should shake things up and share a main dish recipe today. This one is not the most beautiful of entrees, but it sure is tasty. For lack of a better description, I call it Chicken and Pasta. I adapted the recipe from Your Homebased Mom. The first time I made it, I followed her recipe exactly. The lemon flavor was a little overpowering for my family. After two more tries, I finally came up with a version of the recipe that my family loved. If you like lots of lemon feel free to add more lemon juice and zest to yours.
This recipe calls for grilling the chicken, but we've only done that once. The other two times my husband wasn't around, so I cooked the chicken in a skillet. Because to be perfectly honest, I do not grill. Two reasons.
1- Our auto lighter is busted and you have to light the grill with a match. I'm afraid I'll blow my hand off. Or singe off my eyebrows. 2- I cook 95% of the meals that are served at our house. My husband does the grilling. Secretly I'm afraid that if I start grilling, I'll end up doing it all the time. And let's face it–even though I like to cook, sometimes it's nice when someone else does it. I don't wanna go messing with our arrangement.
Chicken and Pasta
8 oz pasta of your choice
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper (I used Kosher salt)
1/2 tsp dry rosemary (or 1 Tbsp fresh)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup crumbled bacon
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup fresh parmesan cheese
3 Roma tomatoes, diced
Cook your pasta in salted boiling water while you prepare the chicken. Drain, but reserve 1/4 cup of the water. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and rosemary on both sides of each chicken breast. Grill or cook in a skillet with a small amount of oil for 7-8 minutes on the first side. Zest your lemon, then juice it. Combine lemon juice with the honey. Brush over the tops of the chicken, then flip it, then brush on the remaining sauce. Cook till chicken juices run clear. Set aside chicken and any sauce left in the skillet.
Melt the butter in a large skillet. (I used the same one I cooked the chicken in.) Add the garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the bacon bits, remaining lemon juice, and the zest. Stir in the cream. Add the cooked pasta. If the sauce is too thick, add a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta water. Add the parmesan cheese and tomatoes and stir together. Slice up the chicken and serve it on top of the pasta.
Note: I was in a hurry and tossed the chicken into the pot with the pasta and sauce. Forgot that it was supposed to go on top. That explains why the photo looks like a hot mess. It is much prettier if you slice the chicken on top. But in the end, it all tastes the same, and that's what really matters, right?
Oh my…this looks and sounds delicious! This is definitely going on next week's menu!
Wow…I am going to try this tonight! Yum!
This sounds great! I don't blame you about not wanting to mess with the arrangement. I totally get that! Thanks for sharing.
Cheers,
Sara
Haha, yes, some things just shouldn't be messed with.
This looks yummy…on my way to the store and realized that you mentioned adding cream in your instructions, but it's not in the list of ingredients. What should I get? Thanks for the recipe!
So, so sorry Jennifer. I forgot to add cream to the ingredient list. I have fixed it now. It's 1/2 cup cream. Hope I didn't mess up your dinner.
No problem. We're going to try it tonight. I'm good at improvising. Thanks again!
This looks great! How much cream and what kind do you mix in?
Oh my gosh, I forgot to list cream in the ingredients. Ooops! It's 1/2 cup cream. You can use either light or heavy whipping cream. Sorry about that.