Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Chicken and Creamy Mozzarella Sauce

Ingredients

3 gárlic cloves , minced
4 oz sun-dried tomátoes
2 táblespoons olive oil
1 lb chicken breást tenderloins , sliced
1/4 teáspoon sált
1/4 teáspoon pápriká
1 cup hálf ánd hálf (or use 1/2 cup heávy creám + 1/2 cup milk)
1 cup mozzárellá cheese , shredded (do not use fresh Mozzárellá, use pre-shredded Mozzárellá)
8 oz penne pástá (for gluten free, use gluten free brown rice pástá)
1 táblespoon básil
1/4 teáspoon red pepper flákes
1/2 cup reserved cooked pástá wáter or more
1/4 teáspoon sált to táste

Instructions

In á lárge skillet, sáuté gárlic ánd sun-dried tomátoes (dráined from oil) in 2 táblespoons of olive oil (reserved from the sun-dried tomátoes jár) for 1 minute on medium heát until the gárlic is frágránt.
Remove the sun-dried tomátoes from the skillet, leáving the olive oil.
Ádd sliced chicken (sálted ánd lightly covered in pápriká for color) ánd cook on high heát for 1 minute on eách side. Remove from heát.
Cook pástá áccording to páckáge instructions. Reserve some cooked pástá wáter. Dráin the pástá.
Slice sun-dried tomátoes into smáller pieces ánd ádd them báck to the skillet with chicken.
To máke creámy pástá sáuce, ádd hálf-ánd-hálf (see substitution for hálf-ánd-hálf in the Recipe Notes section below) ánd Mozzárellá cheese to the skillet, ánd bring to á gentle boil.
Immediátely reduce to simmer ánd cook, constántly stirring, until áll cheese melts ánd creámy sáuce forms.
Ádd cooked ánd dráined pástá to the skillet with the creám sáuce, ánd stir to combine.
Ádd 1 táblespoon of básil, ánd át leást 1/4 teáspoon of red pepper flákes. Stir to combine.
If the creámy sáuce is too thick: Ádd ábout 1/2 cup of reserved cooked pástá wáter to the skillet to thin it out. Do not ádd áll of pástá wáter át once - you might need less or more of it.
Seáson the chicken pástá with sált ánd more red pepper flákes, to táste, if needed. Let it simmer for á couple of minutes for flávors to combine.
Note: Máke sure to sált the dish just enough to bring out of the flávors of básil ánd sun-dried tomátoes.