I really loved this recipe. I didn’t care for the chicken and pasta together, because it overwhelmed each other and you really loose the flavors. Separate they where each awesome. I doubled the sauce recipe and just used one box of pasta. The pasta soaked up the sauce and had a little leftover to dip bread in.

Garlic Pesto Chicken with Tomato Cream Penne

(Adapted from Southern Girl Cooking)

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1/2 bottle of Lawry’s Herb and Garlic Marinade

2 large spoonfuls of Pesto

2 boneless chicken breasts.

Cut chicken into one inch strips. Using same knife make slits into chicken. Pour Lawry’s marinade and pesto over chicken. Marinate over night.

Sauce:

8 ounces of your choice of pasta (I used whole wheat penne)

2 tablespoons of olive oil

3 cloves of garlic

2 spoonfuls of pesto

1/2 cup of chicken broth

8 ounces of tomato sauce

1 cup of half and half I used whipping cream

Boil water and start on noodles.

Pour entire batch of chicken, marinade and all, into skillet and cook chicken fully (the marinade will evaporate/cook down). I didn’t notice the marinade cook down a lot, but it made a nice sauce over the chicken. I not too keen on cooking the marinade with the chicken, but we didn’t get sick so it must have been ok.

Heat olive oil, cook garlic. Add pesto. Simmer in chicken broth until half has cooked down.

Add tomato sauce.

Then add milk. I used whipping cream and let it cook down a little so I wouldn’t have to add flour later to thicken it.

Simmer for 5 minutes. Toss pasta in.

Add flour if it needs to be thickened. Place chicken on top.