Chicken Tuscan Pasta

 I found this recipe originally from the Six Sister's Stuff website, but I made it just a touch different than they describe. To see the original recipe, go here: https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/20-minute-tuscan-pasta-freezer-meal/

It was quick, easy, and everyone LOVED it! Yay! I actually think the boys thought the sundried tomatoes in the recipe were pieces of bacon. Ha, ha! I won't tell if you won't.

Chicken Tuscan Pasta

16 ounces bow tie pasta 1 box

4 Tablespoons butter

4 garlic cloves finely minced or pressed through a garlic press

½ Tablespoon dried basil

8 ounces cream cheese softened and cut into small cubes

8 ounces sun dried tomatoes 1 jar, rinsed, drained and chopped

2 cups milk

8 ounces parmesan cheese grated

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

½ teaspoon salt more to taste if needed

1 cup chicken cooked and cubed

• Cook pasta according to package directions. While it's cooking, prepare the sauce.
• In a medium pot or skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring the whole time. Stir in the dried basil. Add the cream cheese, stirring with a whisk until the mixture is smooth. It will look curdled at first, but with constant whisking for 2-3 minutes, it will become a smooth creamy paste. Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes.
• Keep cooking over medium heat and add the milk and whisk quickly and constantly until it is blended into the sauce. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, pepper and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the cheese is melted and the sauce is the desired consistency, 5-10 minutes.
• Serve over hot, cooked noodles. I put my chicken on top, or you can mix it in. You can also make this as a one-pan dish by adding the noodles and chicken directly to the sauce in the pan, toss, and plate in a large family-style bowl for serving.

Marsha's variation- 

Raw Chicken: I prepped the chicken earlier in the day and then added it to the pan at dinner time. I used two large chicken breasts, cut them into bite-sized pieces, put in my largest frying pan, and then tossed with some oil and my favorite seasoning/rub blend. Cook and then store in the fridge until you are ready to make the pasta and sauce. Otherwise, cook, remove from pan, then make your sauce in the same pan you cooked the chicken in and add the chicken back in later.

Canned Chicken: I used canned chicken in this recipe. To not end up with either leftover sauce and no noodles, or leftover noodles and no sauce, we just mixed the entire dish together, noodles, sauce and all, in the pan that I cooked it all in and then placed everything in TWO 9x9 pans. I topped each pan with extra parmesan cheese. One pan I popped under the broiler in the oven to brown the cheese. The other pan I covered in foil and placed in the freezer. I wrote on the foil, "Thaw and bake for 30 min at 350." 

Using the tiny bowtie pasta, the frozen pan did end up being a bit dry, so I would try another noodle or use more sauce next time.

I have also used regular bowtie pasta and served to our family plus guests and it turned out just fine in the ratio of sauce and noodles without too many leftovers.