Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Chicken Penne with Lemon Cream Sauce

Chicken Penne w/ Lemon Cream Sauce
submitted by Brooke B. Iverson
1 lb penne pasta
5 Tbls EVOO
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced into small cubes
1 tsp basil
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp Oregano
Pinch of ground pepper, plus 1/4 tsp
Pinch of large ground salt
1 cup chicken broth (I use reduced sodium)
2 cups heavy cream
Zest of 1 lemon
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Juice of 2 lemons (I actually use 3 lemons b/c I LOVE the lemon flavor, but that is too much for most people)
Sprinkling of chopped fresh parsley

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook your pasta until tender but still firm. Drain.

While pasta is cooking, heat the EVOO in a large skillet over medium-high. Season your cubed chicken with the basil, Italian seasoning and oregano, as well as a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook the chicken in the oil until golden brown. Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken and set aside, then drain any left over oil from the pan (do not clean out the pan, you want any little leftover bits). Add the chicken broth to the pan and cook over medium-high heat, scraping the brown bits off the bottom. Add the cream, lemon zest, and cayenne. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the pasta, chicken, pinch of salt and pepper, fresh lemon juice and the parsley. Stir to combine and coat pasta and chicken with the sauce and serve.

This meal is super fast to make so it is perfect for a busy week night, and it stores and reheats well. It is also mega easy, anybody can make it. Plus, of course, it is very yummy! Like I said, I like mucho lemon flavor so I use extra lemon juice and even extra lemon zest - it is a nice surprise when somebody bites into the dish and gets that fresh lemon kick. For some people, however, that is too much so if you are not a lemon-lover like I am, just stick with the above amounts, or even less lemon juice. Another tip for lemon-lovers, when you season the chicken sprinkle some lemon juice directly on that as well and let sit for about 20 minutes in the herbs and lemon juice. Enjoy!

1 comment:

  1. Girls, I just finished perusing your cooking blog. It's awesome! What a great idea! There are so many recipes I want to try already. And what a fun idea to do it together with your friends. I never thought I would do a cooking blog, but we have had so much fun with The Sisters' Cafe. Hope you guys love it, too. I'll be checking back for sure!

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