Creamy Pesto Chicken And Linguine

Total Time: 35 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 lb spinach linguine or 1 lb regular linguine
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup butter, divided
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 whole shallot, minced
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomatoes, reconstituted in warm water (measurement before reconstituting)
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper, to taste
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup pesto sauce
• 1/4-1/2 cup romano cheese or 1/4-1/2 cup extra parmesan cheese, grated,for garnish
• fresh ground black pepper, for garnish

Recipe

• 1 cook linguini according to package directions.
• 2 drain and set aside.
• 3 in a large skillet, melt 2 teaspoons of the butter together with the olive oil over medium heat.
• 4 brown the chicken breasts on both sides until nicely golden and juices run clear, about 6 to 7 minutes per side.
• 5 remove from pan and cut into 1/2-inch cubes; set aside.
• 6 pour out drippings from pan, but do not wipe it out.
• 7 in the pan you cooked the chicken in, melt remaining butter over medium heat.
• 8 toss in the minced garlic, shallot, mushrooms, and reconstituted sundried tomatoes and sauté for 5 minutes, then stir in half and half and season with pepper.
• 9 cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently.
• 10 stir the parmesan into the creamy mixture, stirring until well mixed.
• 11 stir in the pesto, and cook for about 5 minutes, until thickened.
• 12 stir in the chicken cubes and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes.
• 13 re-heat the linguini (either in boiling water or microwave) and serve chicken and sauce over the hot pasta.
• 14 garnish with grated romano and freshly ground black pepper.
• 15 makes 4 to 6 servings.