Recently my sister had a baby and I was looking for some good recipes to make that would feed our family, and freeze well for her.
I also wanted a recipe that I could use Pesto in. In the summer I grow tons of basil and make tons of Pesto. Here is my recipe. I LOVE cooking all winter with something so fresh straight from the garden.
To thaw the cubes I just pull them out and let them sit in the fridge for a day.
Tomato and Pesto Chicken Penne Pasta
Tomato and Pesto Chicken Penne Pasta
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 bottle of Lawry’s Herb and Garlic Marinade
- 8 cubes of Pesto (thawed)
- 5 lbs chicken breasts- Cut into pieces
- 2 boxes of penne pasta
- 2 T. of olive oil
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 1 C. of chicken broth
- 20 ounces of tomato sauce
- 1 C. of milk
- 1 C. of cream
- 2 T. cornstarch
- Garnish Ideas: Fresh Parsley, Parmesan
Instructions
- In large ziplock bag mix 4 cubes of Pesto with Lawry’s Marinade. Add in chicken pieces and marinade in refrigerator for 8-24 hrs.
- Pour entire batch of chicken, marinade and all, into skillet and cook chicken fully (the marinade will evaporate/cook down).
- In separate pan heat olive oil, cook garlic. Add 4 cubes of pesto. Simmer in chicken broth until half has cooked down. Add tomato sauce. Then add milk and cream. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add cornstarch to thicken. Add in chicken mixture.
- Cook pasta, then drain and mix into the chicken and sauce mixture.
- Garnish with fresh parsley or parmesan. Serve and Enjoy!
This recipe also freezes and reheats really well. I just poured it into a freezer bag and froze it flat on a cookie sheet. Then to reheat it I thawed it in the fridge for a day and heated it up in a skillet. This recipe fed our family dinner, leftovers for lunch, and filled two freezer bags!
