Monday, July 30, 2012

SRC: Grilled Chicken & Pasta with Basil-Cream Sauce

My assignment for this month was Melanie of Fabulously Fun Food. I was really excited to discover she was living in Tennessee - yay! Tennessee! And I can't help but love that she is also a biologist :) The nerd is me just swoons! I also adore that she has a favorites section for herself and her husband - my husband can never remember which foods he loved a lot by just the titles, so maybe I need to do that for him!

Anyways... typically I choose an opposite course with what I chose last month. Last month I did burgers, so I really should've gone with a sweet or breakfast dish. But when I saw Grilled Chicken & Pasta with Basil-Cream Sauce, it was an instantaneous decision. I am a pasta-holic. I love anything and everything pasta. I knew my husband would be game as long as it had a meat in the dish.

I went in thinking this dish would be great and man alive, it blew me away. Blew me away! This is definitely one of the very best recipes I have ever made and will be made a lot more. My husband, like I said up there, is game when there is meat involved. He kind of gets annoyed when I make meatless dishes - he actually went back just for the pasta and sauce (didn't even get more grilled chicken!). So needless to say, this was a huge hit in my house! I also noticed this was on Melanie's husband's favorites list.


(Print)
What you need:
  • 8 oz. orecchiette pasta [I used the short penne, couldn't find orecchiette]
  • 1 lb. chicken fingers
  • 1 tsp. dried basil
  • Salt and pepper
  • Garlic powder
  • 2 tbsp. butter
  • 3 green onions, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
  • 4 medium tomatoes, diced
  • 4 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
  • 1 pinch red pepper flakes
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
Directions:
  1. Cook pasta according to directions; drain. Set aside.
  2. Season chicken with dried basil, salt, pepper, and garlic. Grill. Set aside.
  3. Melt butter in a skillet. Add green onions and Italian seasoning. Saute for 5 minutes.
  4. Add garlic and saute for 1 more minute. Stir in tomatoes, 3 tbsp. fresh basil, cream, milk, and hot pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
  5. Whisk in Parmesan until melted.
  6. Serve pasta topped with chicken, then sauce, then a little more fresh basil.
Recipe from Fabulously Fun Food


17 comments :

Jenn said...

I would have chosen the past this month as well! This looks delicious :)

Debbi Does Dinner Healthy said...

This is my favorite kind of sauce! I love, love, love it! Great choice and I can see why your family loved it!

Melanie said...

I'm so glad you and your family loved it! I'd completely forgotten about this recipe. It must be time to dig through the archives again!

amy (fearless homemaker) said...

this sounds sooo good! will definitely be trying it. and definitely yay for tennessee - i've lived here for 12 years + love it!

Lisa~~ said...

Totally delicious looking and sounding, great SRC pick.

If you haven't already, I'd love for you to check out my group "A" SRC entry: Double Chocolate Mousse Cake.

Lisa~~
Cook Lisa Cook

Jocelyn said...

The pasta lover in me is loving this recipe!!! I can't wait to try it out!!!!

Anonymous said...

I completely understand you could not resist... pasta is such a weeknight-friendly meal, and your choice had all the right flavors!

Great reveal day!

Kelsey said...

Oh man, I have a basil plant that is overflowing with leaves. They may need to go into this dish! Great choice for SRC!

Chocolate & Chillies said...

It always feels great to get such reactions to the dinners we make! And this one looks wonderful. Great pasta and SRC pick!

Kirstin said...

oh wow! I'm marking this recipe to make later...I too LOVE pasta. It's just so good!!! Your pictures are beautiful!

Rituparna said...

I am a pasta-holic too. Love the combination. Delicious !

Unknown said...

I am loving all the flavors in this recipe! My basil in going bonkers, I am thinking this for dinner tonight. Oh how I love being a new member to SRC, so many new recipes to try!

Jenni said...

This definitely looks delicious! I love chicken and pastas, so this is definitely getting bookmarked!

Unknown said...

a great summer pasta! i love everything you put in there - such fresh ingredients! And fresh garlic is just coming into season - mmmmm fresh garlic, cream, veggie chicken pasta. haha.

happy belated SRC reveal day!

Baking Addict said...

I'm a pasta-holic too so I don't blame you for choosing this one - great SRC pick!

Unknown said...

The fact that this made 2 "husband favorite" lists makes this recipe even more appealing. For me though, it's all about the pasta! This sounds amazing! I plan on making it very soon! Thanks for sharing this one. You did a wonderful job!

Jaime said...

Great choice ~ this pasta looks delicious! I would love to invite you to share this recipe at Mom's Test Meal Mondays!

Hope you've had a wonderful day!