Tuscan Chicken Penne

You need to add this Tuscan Chicken Penne to your weekly pasta night menu. It’s a creamy pan sauce filled with sun dried tomatoes, spinach and mushrooms and goes prefect with the chicken and pasta. This is a delicious base sauce to add any shape pasta to, it doesn’t have to be penne, use what you have on hand.

My recipes and the way I cook is to use what  I have on hand, or what is on sale and the freshest seasonal  ingredients.  This meal came about because on a shopping trip I bought whole, skinless. boneless chicken breast, they were on sale.

I like to cut them into different shapes to use in different recipes. For this penne pasta I cut the chicken into strips.

The rest I cut into fillets for grilling or baking, lay it flat in baggies and freeze it.

It’s great when all you have to do is take the chicken out of the freezer and it’s pan ready for your recipe, for those busy night , when commitments are long and time is short.

This quick dinner can be on your table in about thirty minutes and has few ingredients so you don’t have to go to the store as often, because you forgot something, and leaving with more than you came for, plus a little extra frustration you didn’t have to pay for in this crazy times.

Lets Talk Pasta Water

In this Tuscan Chicken Penne recipe I used pasta water in the sauce, like I do in 75% of my recipes. Pasta water is the magical ingredient to add to your pan sauces.

Add 1 cup or a couple ladle fulls to your sauce before adding the pasta.The salty, starchy water not only adds flavor but helps to glue the sauce and pasta together, it will also help thicken the sauce.

Save the pasta water before you drain the pasta, this is an easy step to forget. I like to save more of the pasta water then I need to adjust for the consistency am looking for.

If you want to thicken any pan sauce a little pour do this, coat a pat or two of butter with flour and drop it in the sauce. Be sure to cook the sauce at least 5 minutes after adding floured butter so there is no flour taste.

This is a delicious restaurant quality base sauce  you can customize to fit your lifestyle and taste and your family will love it. If you make this recipe please leave me a comment and  don’t forget to tag me on Instagram with your creations, hearing from you is my favorite part.

 

Ingredients

1 lbs. penne

1/2 Lbs. chicken sliced into strips

4 cups spinach chopped

4 oz, sun dried tomatoes

1 cup parmesan cheese

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup chicken stock

1 cup reserved pasta water

2 Tbs. chopped garlic

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 Tbs. each chopped Italian parsley, basil, and thyme

2 Tbs. each olive oil and butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Instruction

1.Heat oil and butter  add onion and garlic saute until opaque

2. Salt and pepper chicken

3. Add s chicken saute on high heat till golden

4.  Add heavy whipping cream, chicken stock, pasta water and parmesan cheese

5. Simmer  covered until thickens about 15 minutes

6. Add  spinach and sun dried tomatoes simmer 5 minutes longer

7. Toss cooked penne in sauce

8. Top with additional parmesan……. Enjoy!!!