Feb 20

Feb 20 Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pasta with Spinach and Sun Dried Tomatoes

Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pasta with Spinach and Sun Dried Tomatoes

This pasta dish is rich and tastes like something you would order at a nice Italian restaurant. Although it has a lot of add ins, the sauce has only a few ingredients making this simple and quick to make. It’s cheesy and delicious.

INGREDIENTS

6 strips of bacon
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 chicken breasts
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. oregano
2 tbsp. chopped garlic
2 cups of baby spinach
1 cup sun dried tomatoes
1 1/3 cups half and half cream
1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese, shredded, plus more for serving
285 grams rigatoni pasta
Salt and pepper
Chili pepper flakes (optional)

YIELD

5 servings

TIME

Prep - 20 minutes
Cook - 20 minutes

TOOLS

Large saucepan
Deep skillet

DIRECTIONS

In a large skillet, cook bacon to desired crispiness. Set aside on paper towel and dice when cool. Drain and wipe down the pan of bacon grease.
Slice chicken into strips and dice sun dried tomatoes into small pieces. Set tomatoes aside.
Bring a large pot of water to boil, add pasta and cook it according to instructions. Drain the pasta in a colander.
As the pasta cooks, in a large skillet on medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add chicken, paprika, basil and oregano. Saute for 5-7 minutes. Remove chicken from the pan and set aside. Do NOT drain pan.
In the same skillet (but without chicken), add spinach and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes until spinach wilts. Add diced sun dried tomatoes and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
Add chicken and the diced bacon back into the pan.
Add half and half and bring to boil. Only after half and half starts boiling, reduce heat and add the shredded Parmesan cheese. Stir until the cheese melts and makes the sauce creamy, only about 1 minute (at most 2 minutes). Then, immediately remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.
Add pasta to the skillet with the sauce. Mix everything.
Serve topped with Parmesan cheese and chili pepper flakes.