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Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Creamy Lemon Pasta with Chicken, Spinach, & Tomatoes

When I saw this recipe posted on The Comfort of Cooking, I knew I was going to make it, it was just a matter of when!!  Well, when happened recently and well, I must exclaim, I LOVE this dish!!!  Chris thought it was a bit too lemony but that, I am certain, was due to my error, not the error of the recipe.  You see, the other weekend, Chris and I stopped at a Farmer's Market that was down the street from our house.  One of the stands had some really nice sized lemons so I grabbed two knowing I was making this dish.  The more I thought about it, after we sat down to eat, the more I realized those lemons were much larger then normal ones I've been seeing in the store.  I mean MUCH larger, probably about double the size of the ones in the grocery store.  So, yea... I'm thinking the over lemony flavor was my bad.  (Sorry, Georgia!!)  Personally... I still loved it.  AND, I thought it was even better the next day!  The flavors had more time to meld together...it was delicious!!

Creamy Lemon Pasta with Chicken, Spinach, & Tomatoes
Adapted from Georgia, The Comfort of Cooking
Printable Recipe 
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup heavy cream
2 lemons, zested and juices reserved
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
13 oz whole grain penne pasta
3 oz baby spinach
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast - grilled & cut into small bite size pieces

Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat; add the garlic and cook for 1 minutes.  Add the cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until it starts to thicken.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to packages directions; drain and place back into the pot.  Immediately add the cream mixture and cook it over medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes or until most of the sauce has been absorbed in the pasta.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the spinach, parmesan, tomatoes, and chicken.  Toss well until the spinach has wilted.  Season to taste with salt and pepper; serve hot.  Enjoy!


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17 comments:

Unknown said...

It does look delish... and so creamy. Yum! I sometimes get them from the market as well, monster size lemons. :)

Andrea the Kitchen Witch said...

Mmm this sounds GOOD!! I love lemon veggie pasta. I love the bright colors in the creamy sauce, and you know the tart lemon will compliment that heavy cream oh so nicely! Wish I could find huge lemons here. Seeing as how I can't I'll use regular size lemons & make this soon. YUM!

StephenC said...

how do you type with 1 hand because there's a dog lying on your other hand? very slowly, that's how. great dish.

Yenta Mary said...

Oh, man, it's creamy and colorful -- perfect for this dreary rainy day!

Big Dude said...

I like everything in this dish and it's very colorful. My friend Joe likes to grill and eats healthier than I do with lots of chicken. He was here yesterday so I told him I knew just the blog for him for lots of chicken and fish dishes - so I think you'll have a new reader.

Roxan said...

I'm so glad that you posted this Jenn! I've been looking for a good lemon pasta recipe. I also subscribe to Georgia's blog but I must have missed her entry on this dish.

Meg Luby said...

lemon pasta is classic and always, always divine. thanks for sharing! love it.
-meg
@ http://clutzycooking.blogspot.com

Mary Bergfeld said...

That looks unbelievably good. Rich and creamy equal dreamy. Have a great day. Blessings...Mary

Pam said...

Rich, creamy, lemony = perfect pasta! It looks wonderful.

Pam said...

Great dish! I love this with all the lemon flavor and bet it is creamy delicious!

Martha said...

Sounds heavenly to me! I'm sure I would have loved the extra lemony flavor too :-)

SnoWhite said...

Delicious - this has my name written all over it. Want to bring me a plate?

Unknown said...

Love the colors! I find SO MANY dishes better the next day! Almost all but rice! :)

Cranberry Morning said...

Oh yes, I know I will love this. I love lemon!!

Diana's Cocina said...

Now that looks like the perfect spring/summer dish to me. Could you pass me a plate please :)

Chris said...

Ha ha, was Chris walking around the rest of the night with one eye open like he was wincing?

We used to have a lemon tree in our yard in Florida that produced lemons almost the size of a grapefruit, no lie.

Unknown said...

I just made this recipe, followed to a tee. Definitely too much lemon! I used regular sized lemons and I still found it to be too much. I would recommend only using one lemon. Other than that it was delicious, I will definitely be making this again and again!