Recipe of the day: Warm and creamy chicken and bacon pasta

The cold and gloomy weather calls for a hearty, comforting and warm bowl of delicious and creamy pasta. Create this easy and flavourful chicken and bacon pasta for supper tonight for yourself and your family.

You can substitute and make use of any type of pasta which suits your preference and dietary requirements.

Chicken and bacon pasta

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 500 g of chicken (chicken breasts or tenderloins)
• 1 teaspoon of paprika
• 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning (thyme, oregano, basil – combined)
• 5 tomatoes (medium, chopped in large cubes)
• 1 cup of spinach cooked
• 5 garlic cloves minced
• ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes , crushed
• 6 bacon strips , COOKED, DRAINED OF FAT, AND CHOPPED
• 1 ⅓ cups of half and half
• 1 ⅓ cups of Parmesan cheese , shredded
• 1 pack of penne pasta or any pasta of your choice
• ½ cup of Parmesan cheese , shredded, for serving

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Instructions

1. In a large skillet, on high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil until hot. Add chicken and cook on one side on high heat for 1 minute. While it cooks, sprinkle the uncooked sides of the chicken with paprika and Italian seasoning. Flip the chicken over, and cook on the other side for 1 minute on high heat. Reduce heat to medium, flip chicken over again and cook, covered, for several minutes until no longer pink in the center. Remove chicken from the pan and keep chicken warm.
2. To the same pan (but without chicken), add chopped tomatoes, spinach, garlic, crushed red pepper, ⅓ of the chicken (sliced into small strips) and half the bacon (already cooked and drained of fat). Mix everything.
3. Add half and half and bring to boil. Only after half and half starts boiling, add shredded Parmesan cheese – immediately reduce to simmer and stir, while simmering, until the cheese melts and makes the sauce creamy, only about 1 minute (at most 2 minutes). Then, immediately remove from heat. Season with more crushed red pepper and salt, if needed.
4. In the mean time bring a large pot of water to boil, add pasta and cook it according to instructions. Drain the pasta, rinse with cold water and drain again.
5. Add pasta to the skillet with the sauce. Add remaining half of bacon (cooked and drained of fat). Season with more salt if necessary. Slice the remaining ⅔ of chicken into thin strips. To serve, top the pasta with chicken strips and shredded Parmesan cheese.

This recipe was found on juliasalbum.com