Roasted Red Pepper Sauce with Chicken over Penne

I've been on a huge roasted red pepper kick lately.  Main reason is because I do so love roasted red peppers, but also, because I actually bought a jar of roasted red peppers and wanted to make sure I utilized every single one of them.  I normally would roast my own peppers, but sometimes, just sometimes, I do like the ease of certain things and jarred roasted peppers definitely makes things easy.

So when I was a kid there were really only a few types of sauces we put on our pasta....homemade, Ragu, and roast gravy (oh, yes, brown gravy you make with your roast tastes wonderful on pasta, TRUST me!!!).  As I grew older, I realized that there was so much more to pasta then the basic marinara/tomato sauce.  One of my favorites that I've stumbled across is roasted red pepper sauce.  It's got a wonderful flavor that's close enough to regular sauce but different enough that it makes you go...mmmmmm, yeah, I like that!!!

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce with Chicken over Penne Pasta
Printable Recipe 
Ingredients:
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into strips or bite size chunks
1 box whole grain penne pasta
I cup jarred roasted red pepper
1 cup chicken broth
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain.

In a food processor, add the red pepper, chicken broth, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and tomato paste.  Pulse until combined.  Pour into a sauce pan and cook over medium heat until just heated through.  Add the chicken and the basil.  Serve over pasta and enjoy!