Penne for your thoughts

What's for dinner?

Years ago, my mom nearly forced me to write off chicken. I think we had it every other day when I was a kid. I knew I had to do something when she came home with “365 Ways to Cook Chicken” by Cheryl Sedaker. I doubt Sedaker expected anyone to actually turn to her cookbook 365 days in a row, but I wasn’t sure my mom knew that. A year of nothing but chicken for dinner? AHHHHHHHHHHHH! At that point, I had no recourse but to hide the cookbook and pray for taco night…

Here's one of my recipes to liven up chicken, and you probably already have most of this stuff on hand (omit the pasta for a great carb-friendly meal):

Presto! Pesto Chicken and Pasta
1 pound of chicken breast (fresh or frozen; if frozen, just defrost slightly)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
4 heaping tablespoons of a quality prepared pesto (homemade is best, but I'm being realistic)
8 ounces of Barilla penne pasta
1 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 lemon, halved
1 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup of fresh grated parmesan
An extra tablespoon or two to extra virgin olive oil
About a tablespoon of Kosher salt to add to pasta water

Heat a pot of salted water to boiling and cook pasta (according to directions on box) as you prepare the chicken. Heat olive oil in a large pan (that has a lid) over medium to medium high heat - don’t let the oil smoke. Rinse chicken and trim fat and gristly bits. (Tip: Slightly frozen meat is way easier to cut.) Pat chicken dry. Cut breast into ½ slices, cutting across the grain. Squeeze one half of the lemon over the sliced chicken then season it with garlic powder and black pepper. Add sliced and seasoned chicken breast to hot oil. Cook until the chicken is nicely browned and the center is no longer pink. Reduce heat and add cooked and drained pasta to the pan of chicken. Add pesto and red pepper flakes, adding more or less to control spice level. Drizzle with olive oil, and the juice from the remaining half of lemon. Toss well, garnish with parmesan and serve immediately.

I add bruschetta and a salad of mixed baby greens drizzled with a basic vinaigrette to round it out.

Best dishes,

Nicci