Creamy Chicken Pasta

I love a cheesy, creamy, rich pasta - usually when I eat out this is what I order because I think it is too much trouble to make at home, especially for one person (no one else in my family has the same cheese addiction that I do).  

Thankfully I found a recipe that is not only easy to make (and also easy to adapt to ingredients available on hand), but I now have a container to conveniently store leftovers.

Now I can stay home and enjoy a restaurant quality meal! 

My mom also taste tested this dish - at first she didn't want to try it because she didn't think she liked creamy sauces (this was news to me), but after finishing up every last bite she gave me a thumbs up and said that I can make it again for her anytime.  Success!

This recipe calls for heavy cream and 2% milk but you can also opt to use Half & Half instead.  I used dried basil but you can use any spices you prefer such as Italian spice blend, or fresh basil if you have it.  

Creamy Chicken Pasta

Ingredients

• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 jar sundried tomatoes packed in oil (approximately 1/2 cup)
• 1 pound roasted chicken, shredded
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup 2% milk
• 2 cups shredded mozarella cheese
• 8 oz penne pasta 
• 1 tbsp dried italian spice blend
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• salt to taste
• garnish with freshly chopped parsley

Directions

1. Boil the pasta until al dente, drain, rinse and set aside.
2. In a deep medium sized saute pan heat the milk and cream until just starting to boil.
3. Add the cheese and whisk until all the cheese is melted.
4. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, spices and sun dried tomatoes - stir to incorporate all the ingredients.
5. Taste the sauce before adding the salt.  Add salt to taste.
6. Carefully add the pasta and then the chicken - stir until all the pasta is coated with the delicious sauce.
7. Serve immediately, garnish with freshly chopped parsley.  

Save leftovers in Shape+Store's Freezer Buddy.

Once frozen you can remove as many portions as needed (each section holds 1/3 cup portions).  Place frozen portions either into a microwavable bowl or into a pan to reheat.

Let me know if you tried this recipe.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from http://juliasalbum.com/2014/10/chicken-mozzarella-pasta-with-sun-dried-tomatoes/