Recent favorite pasta

Alright, I feel like if I'm going to post so infrequently, I owe you some photos with the post.  Here are a few recent ones of what my life looks like these days . . . not a lot of sleep or rest but plenty of smiles and adventures.

This pasta recipe was another Pinterest "win."  I love sun dried tomatoes and I liked that this recipe has chicken as a lean protein to balance out the carbs.  We've been eating lots of the sausage & kale pasta but I wanted something a little different and this hit the spot.

Chicken Mozzarella Pasta with Sun-dried Tomatoes (4 servings)
from Julia's Album

3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small jar (3-4 oz) sun-dried tomatoes in oil (you can use dried if you want)
1 lb chicken breast tenders
salt
1 c. half and half
1 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
8 oz penne pasta
1 T dried basil (can use fresh - maybe use more)
crushed red pepper flakes

Cooking Note:  If you're using the sun-dried tomatoes in oil (from a jar), drain them before using them and reserve 2 T of the drained oil for sautéing.  If you're using dried sun-dried tomatoes, use 2 T olive oil.

In a large pan on high heat, sauté the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes (drained) in 2 T of oil (see note above) for 1 minute until garlic is fragrant.  Remove the sun-dried tomatoes from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Add the chicken tenders, salt lightly cook on high heat for 1 minute on each side.  Remove from heat.

Cook pasta according to package instructions.  Reserve a cup of the cooked pasta water.  Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water.

Slice the sun-dried tomatoes into smaller bits (if you want to) and then add them back to the skillet with the chicken.  Add half and half and cheese to the skillet and bring to a gentle boil.  Immediately reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until all the cheese melts and a creamy sauce forms. Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and stir to combine.  Add basil, red pepper flakes (to taste) and stir to combine.

At this point, the creamy pasta sauce will be too thick so add about a 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water (try a tablespoon or two at a time, stirring, until it's a consistency you like).  Immediately season with salt and more red pepper flakes to taste.  Let it simmer for a few more minutes to combine the flavors.