Today, I am sharing one of my all-time favorite recipes. The night I made this dish angels sang… or maybe it was just my husband. But, he could not have been happier. As the flavors exploded in his mouth, he had this look like, “I am SO GLAD I married you.”
It’s good. It’s REALLY good.
Even though this recipe is dynamite-delicious, a beginner could easily put this together in a flash.
You can start with cooked chicken but I cannot recommend it for this recipe. You really need to start with raw, cubed chicken breast so that it can get the flavor going from the start.
1. Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic first and then the chicken breast. Salt and pepper the chicken well. Toss around until cooked through.
2. Add sliced black olives, quartered artichoke hearts, and a diced tomato or two.
3. To the chicken and vegetables, add 1/2 cup prepared pesto and 1 cup heavy whipping cream. (I never said this was a diet recipe!)
4. Ladle two scoops of pasta stock (the water in which you boiled your pasta) to the skillet and simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes. Add in your pasta (slightly under-cooked and drained) and chopped spinach. Simmer until most of the sauce is absorbed into the pasta.
You could sprinkle it with Parmesan cheese before serving but that is completely optional… and really isn’t necessary.
5 Days of Oven-Free Meals: Creamy Pesto Pasta Primavera
Ingredients
- 1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 clove garlic pressed
- salt and pepper
- 1 can artichoke hearts drained and quartered
- 1/2 cup sliced black olives
- 2 Roma tomatoes diced
- 1 cup spinach coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup basil pesto
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 box shaped pasta
Instructions
- Prepare pasta according to package directions but leave slightly under-cooked. Drain, reserving the liquid.
- Meanwhile, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic first and then the chicken breast. Salt and pepper the chicken well. Toss around until cooked through.
- To the chicken, add sliced black olives, quartered artichoke hearts, and tomatoes.
- Then, stir in 1/2 cup prepared pesto, 1 cup heavy whipping cream, and about 2 cups of pasta stock (the water in which you boiled your pasta). Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Add the pasta and chopped spinach. Simmer until most of the sauce is absorbed into the pasta.
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