Sunday, September 28, 2014

Chicken with Tomato & Mushroom Sauce

I've been craving pasta and this recipe totally hit the spot. I've made fresh tomato sauces before, but this time I decided to add mushrooms since I had some leftover from another dish that I made. This dish was so easy and yummy...fits my requirements when I cook!
                                      

Gather it:
3 large tomatoes, diced (about 3 cups)
Mushrooms, sliced (about 2 cups)
Large handful of fresh basil, sliced into ribbons
5 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbsp butter
4 chicken breasts
1 lb of pasta

Make it:
1) In a large pan, heat up about 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Meanwhile season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. If the breasts are thick you can pound them a little bit to thin them out and cook faster.

2) In a large pot, boil water for pasta. Cook pasta according to the directions on the box.

3) Place chicken breasts in hot oil and cook for about 5-6 minutes. Flip to other side and cook for another 4-5 minutes or until cooked through. I had to cook mine in two batches because the breasts were fairly large. Place all 4 breasts on a plate and allow to rest.

4) In the same pan, place mushrooms and allow to soften for about 5 minutes.

5) Add tomatoes, cook 5 minutes. Add garlic, butter, and basil (reserve a small amount for garnish). Season with more salt and pepper to taste. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Make sure to scrape up all the yummy goodness on e bottom of the pan from the chicken!

6) In a large bowl, place pasta in bottom of bowl, top with sauce, then chicken. Add more sauce on top of chicken and garnish with basil.

It was delish! The kids loved it...even the whole wheat spaghetti. Kevin's not a fan of whole wheat pasta, but the meal really needed pasta that you have to twirl! He ended up loving it too! Kevin and I added a sprinkle of red pepper flakes to our bowls. Next time I'm going to get a wedge of Parmesan and grate some on top to help finish the dish off.