Chicken Penne Caprese

Hi All ~

It's been a while since I've posted! School is picking up a bit, so it's harder to find time to cook. Luckily, I've got some great, quick recipes on hand - like this one! I derived this recipe and made a few slight changes from the chicken pasta caprese from the Skinnytaste Cookbook.

This is a great, easy, light dish if you're in a hurry, or don't have much time to cook.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast
• salt
• ground black pepper
• 4 tsp olive oil
• cooking spray
• onion powder
• garlic powder
• 3/4 of a 16 oz box of penne
• 6 garlic cloves
• 2.5 cups grape tomatoes
• 1/4 cup fresh basil
• 4 oz fresh mozzarella cheese

Tools:

• Cutting Board
• Large Knife
• Large Pot
• Large Skillet
• Large Bowl
• Cooking Spoon

Directions:

1. Prep your chicken

To prep your chicken, place the chicken cutlets onto the cutting board. Usually, a pound of chicken breast is two breasts. Season the chicken breast on both sides with pepper, salt, onion powder, and garlic powder to taste (don't over season the meat; about a tablespoon of each should suffice). Once your chicken breast is seasoned - you can rub the seasoning in if you'd like - cut the chicken into 1/2 inch cubes. Put the seasoned chicken into a large bowl, and thoroughly wash the cutting board.

2. Prep your vegetables

Wash the grape tomatoes and basil, then slice the grape tomatoes in half. Thinly slice the fresh basil. Cut the mozzarella into small, bite-sized cubes; the shape won't matter, as it will melt into the pasta anyways.

3. Boil water for pasta

Take the large pot, and start to boil a pot of salted water.

 4. Cook your chicken

Heat the skillet over high heat, and spray it with oil. Add your chicken, and cook until it's cooked through; this should be about 3 minutes on each side. Once the chicken is done cooking, turn off the burner and transfer the chicken to a plate.

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5. Cook your pasta

By now, your pasta water should be boiling. Cook the pasta al dente according to the directions on the package. Once the pasta is done cooking, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, and drain the rest.

6. Cook everything together

Heat the skillet again to medium heat. Add the olive oil and garlic, and stir until the garlic turns golden brown; be careful not to burn the garlic. Add the tomatoes, 1/8 tsp of salt, and ground black pepper to taste, and reduce the heat to medium low. Keep stirring the tomatoes until they're tender (about 4 minutes). Add the pasta to the tomatoes, and add some pasta water if it seems dry. Add your chicken, basil, and mozzarella, and stir to melt the mozzarella into the pasta.

7. Serve!

Serve the pasta hot immediately after the mozzarella has melted. I put a little sprinkle of crushed dry red pepper on mine, and it was delicious.

As always, if you made this dish, let me know how it turned out! You can comment below or tag or hashtag me at kitchen512 on Instagram or Twitter. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at eatsatkitchen512@gmail.com.

Happy Eating!
-Tiffany