Hi there ISBMTF readers! It's me, Claire, from A Little CLAIREification back with a delicious little recipe for you all. This Creamy Pesto Chicken & Vegetable Pasta is easy to whip up for a lazy Summer evening with family and friends.
Speaking of Summer, can you even believe we are already more than half way through May? A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of seeing Kristi again at the SNAP! Conference in Salt Lake City - time is just flying by. It was so good to see her!! Love that girl.
This is one of our favorite pasta dishes - the peppers are so colorful and flavorful. We had a lot of luck growing our own red and orange peppers last year and we are WAY behind with planting (or I should say potting) anything yet this season. Our patio garden needs help but it's on the list for this next week. I pinky swear.
We alternate using angel hair and bow tie pasta but I really like the bow ties for this one - you can use whichever pasta you prefer or have on hand, honestly. Also, we love to make our own pesto but our basil supply was low - store bought works perfectly fine.
I personally cannot stand green bell peppers but feel free to use some of those too if you like them. We stick with the red, orange and yellow peppers and add a little zucchini.
This may seem like a heavy dish because of the cream sauce but it's really not. The fresh veggies help keep it light and I can tell you it's perfect to take along to a pot luck or a cookout. Just make sure you don't over cook the veggies - you want them cooked, but not mushy.
You can even take the chicken vegetable mixture in a separate container and toss in the bow ties when you're ready to serve - remember to toss the pasta with a little olive oil so it doesn't stick together en route.
I hope you enjoy the recipe and I'm looking forward to seeing you all again right here next month. Come on over and say hello in the meanwhile - I'd love to "meet" you!
You may also enjoy these tasty pasta dishes:
Recipe: Creamy Pesto Chicken & Vegetable Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 half each red, yellow & orange bell peppers, chopped
- 1 zucchini, chopped into bite sized pieces
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1⁄2 cup prepared pesto sauce
- 16 oz. bow tie pasta
- Shredded Parmesan for garnishing if desired
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the chicken to skillet.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add bell peppers and zucchini and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 more minutes.
- Stir in the heavy cream and pesto sauce.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, 6 minutes until slightly thickened.
- While the chicken is cooking, make the pasta according to package directions.
- Drain the pasta and add to the chicken mixture in the skillet, tossing to combine.
- Garnish with shredded Parmesan cheese if desired
Number of servings (yield): 4
This looks AMAZING, Claire! Like, can you come to my house and fix this for me tonight? Pretty please!? So happy you've joined me today! Be sure to stop by Claire's place over at alittleclaireification.com for more fun!
This looks AMAZING, Claire! Like, can you come to my house and fix this for me tonight? Pretty please!? So happy you've joined me today! Be sure to stop by Claire's place over at alittleclaireification.com for more fun!
Neglect your chores like me and don't miss a thing:
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