Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta

Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta

Pasta and chicken. Those two items are staples in our family's meal rotation. We are a busy family that doesn't have a lot of time to prepare fussy meals. I need something that's quick to make and it's a bonus if I am able to prepare the ingredients ahead of time. Chicken and pasta are two ingredients that I can do that with. I can prep this meal in the afternoon or the day before and it still tastes fresh when I reheat it in the skillet with the fresh sauce. It's one of the new comfort food dishes that our family is turning to {here's another}. I'm excited to be partnering with Foster Farms Simply Raised Chicken to share this recipe with you.

Recently, Foster Farms commissioned a National survey to find out what people are looking for in their new comfort food dishes. Our family is part of the 80% of Americans that are turning to chicken as a staple for their comfort food meals and are prioritizing chicken raised with no antibiotics, hormones or steroids. It's important to me to put the best foods that will provide the best fuel for my active growing children, while still providing the comforts of a home cooked meal.  Comfort food to me is a home cooked meal shared with the people that I love using local, fresh ingredients, like tomatoes from my garden and Foster Farms Simply Raised chicken from the West Coast, that are easy to prepare and easy to enjoy!

I'm excited to share with you how you can make this sun-dried tomato chicken pasta with a few different variations and ideas for your family. It's sure to become a favorite!

Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta

I had a bumper crop of tomatoes this year so I took some of my tomatoes and sun-dried them. I've never done it before and honestly, after doing it, I have no idea why! It was so easy and far cheaper than the ones you will buy at the store.

Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Preheat oven to 200 degrees

Wash and halve tomatoes. Gently squeeze out the seeds. Place the tomatoes on a non-stick cookie sheet and sprinkle with a little salt to taste.

Bake until tomatoes take on a leathery texture {usually around 6-7 hours}

You can freeze your tomatoes in a freezer bag or put them in a jar and cover them with olive oil. You can add a sprig of basil or add a clove of garlic to the jar.

Ingredients

1/2 Pound Penne pasta

2 Minced garlic cloves

1 Cup sun-dried tomatoes

1/2 Cup Parmesan cheese

2 Tbsps butter

1/4 Pound of Foster Farms Simply Raised Chicken

1 Tsp onion powder

2 Tbsps heavy cream

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Season the chicken with the onion powder, salt, and pepper.
Heat a skillet over medium heat and cook the chicken for 5-8 minutes per side.
Transfer to a cutting board and use forks to shred it.

This can be done ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. I also like to at least double the amount of chicken I prep so that I can use it for other recipes throughout the week. This prepared chicken is great in salads or even soups.

Place the pasta into salted boiling water for 6-9 minutes or until al dente. Again, you can make the pasta ahead of time if you find yourself in a rush in the evenings. Simply refrigerate the pasta until you are ready to use it.

If you are making this recipe in real time, while waiting for the pasta to cook, set a saucepan over medium heat and beat together the garlic, butter, heavy cream, and almost all of the Parmesan cheese.  If you have already prepared your chicken and pasta, start here and prepare the sauce.

Cook for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Once the pasta is ready, drain it and keep in the pot, add the sauce, chicken, and sun-dried tomatoes. Mix well.  If you are reheating your pasta and chicken, add a few TBSP of olive oil to a pot and stir the chicken and pasta together for a few minutes and heat it on medium high heat to reheat them. Then add the sauce and sun-dried tomatoes.

Serve into the bowls and top with the remaining parmesan cheese.  You could also add basil pesto into the sauce for a different flavor or feel free to experiment with adding various vegetables {broccoli is another favorite} and omitting the sun-dried tomatoes.

Enjoy.

I think this easy-and-quick-to-prepare sun-dried tomato chicken pasta will become a family favorite. You can make so many different variations while still using fresh local ingredients. This is sure to become one of your new favorite comfort foods.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Foster Farms Simply Raised Chicken. All opinions are 100% my own.