Several months ago, a reader sent me a super delicious pasta recipe. I tried it, we LOVED it, and of course, I wanted to share it on the blog. However, I felt like it had a few too many steps as it involved marinating chicken, marinating vegetables and then grilling the chicken and vegetables before you even started making the meal.
Although the recipe was amazing, I know I personally don’t have the desire to grill meat and vegetables on a weekday with 2 tiny people huddling around my legs — not to mention we usually don’t grill in the winter.
So I simplified it… A LOT.
I also added cheese!
If you’re looking for a ridiculously simple (like 15 minutes prep-time max), amazingly tasty pasta dish that’s a little less “every day” than spaghetti and meatballs, you need to try THIS recipe!
I haven’t tried freezing it yet, but I can testify that the leftovers are amazing (so feel free to make a double batch!)
Recipe for Chicken, Bacon Pesto Pasta
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 chicken breast; cut into bite-size chunks (I use a kitchen scissors for this)
- 1/2 c. Italian salad dressing (optional meat marinade)
- 1/2 16oz. box Penne pasta (8 oz. total)
- 2 T. oil or butter
- 1 small onion; diced
- 1 t. minced garlic
- 1 6oz. container prepared pesto sauce (or you can make your own from scratch)
- 1/4 c. real bacon chunks
- 1/2 shredded mozzarella or Italian cheese
DIRECTIONS:
- {OPTIONAL} marinate chicken chunks in Italian dressing for 30 minutes – 2 hours before preparing meal
- In a medium sauce pan, boil water for pasta (add pasta and cook as directed on the package)
- While the pasta cooks, sauté onions, garlic, and chicken in oil in a medium frying pan until chicken is cooked through.
- Add pesto sauce, bacon chunks, and cheese to cooked chicken mixture, stir, and simmer on low until warm.
- Drain pasta (don’t rinse) and add to sauce mixture. Stir until combined.
- Serve and enjoy.
See… I told you it was simple!
I’ve tried this recipe with marinated chicken and without — and I honestly don’t notice much of a difference. Sometimes, when I’m thinking far enough in advance, I’ll quickly toss a little dressing on the chicken. Other times, I totally forget and I know the meal will turn out just fine anyway.
Definitely don’t stress about that step — I just wanted to include it for those of you who really like marinated meats.
Oh, and I should mention that even though I only showed two plates above, Nora DID eat this (and she really liked it).
If you’re looking for a dish to pass at a potluck or holiday party, I could easily see doubling (or tripling) this recipe, putting it in a large casserole dish, adding extra cheese and bacon on top, and baking it in the oven for 15-20 minutes. It would be SO delicious!
This recipe is definitely a winner for our family, and something I will be making more often now that the weather is cooling down.
What are your favorite cooler weather foods?
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