Tender chicken smoked bacon, tomatoes, and peas with pasta in a super creamy sauce.
This was a change to the planned midweek dinner as we have spent a lot of time sorting out the house ready for moving in April and so kept this recipe pretty simple.
In fact, it was that simple you could call it a cupboard dinner, the sort that you need for the end of the month when you’re waiting to get paid or even the days when you realise you have not had the time to carry out your weekly shop.
And this is where I started; this week’s shop was based on items that were already in the cupboards, refrigerator, and freezer.
I feel I am quite meticulous when it comes to my weekly food shop and have an agenda that I like to stick too. One is a recipe for Looks Good Lets Eat and the rest based on how we as a family are feeling. I try to keep as much fruit and vegetables involved into our menus and seasonal where possible. Keeping seasonal can be quite easy to stray from as most supermarkets stock all fruits and vegetables throughout the year.
This recipe has combined some of the weekly staples such as pasta and chicken with some favourites in the form of smoked bacon and peas; what could go wrong. Nothing to be precise and I actually made more than required because my wife and I had it for our lunch the following day.
The kids absolutely devoured this dinner and asked for more but then I would have no lunch, I know I am selfish but it was that delicious, and they would not squeeze in the chocolate eclairs I had bought for the family on the way home from work that day so I was still in the good books.
As a simple dinner, this recipe packs loads of flavour from the garlic, spicentice Italian seasoning, and smoked paprika. The textures coming from the tender chicken, bacon, al-dente pasta and peas are then enveloped in this super cream sauce finished with parmesan makes this the ultimate easy midweek dinner.
Creamy Chicken, Smoked Bacon, Tomato and Pea Pasta
Ingredients
- 4 slices smoked back bacon cut into 1 cm cubes
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 500 g Chicken breast cut into strips
- 1 red onion cut into small dice
- 12 small plum tomatoes halved
- 5 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 tsp. Italian seasoning I used spicentice rub
- 1 tsp. Smoked Paprika
- 300 g rigatoni pasta
- 200 g Frozen peas
- 300 ml Double cream
- 200 ml whole milk
- 50 g Grated parmesan plus extra to serve
Instructions
- Start by bringing a large pot of salted water to the boil. While the water is coming to the boil fry the bacon in a non-stick frying pan without any oil fat over a medium to high heat until cooked through and crispy. Place in a bowl lined with kitchen towel to absorb the bacon fat.
- In the same pan add the olive oil and fry the chicken for about 5 to 8 minutes until just cooked through. At this point add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for ten minutes.
- In the pan with the chicken add the onion, plum tomatoes and garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the seasoning and paprika and cook for a further minute.
- Add the cream and milk and cook for 2 to 3 minutes by which point the pasta would be cooked. Add the pasta to the creamy sauce along with the bacon and peas and cook for a further minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the parmesan and season to your liking with salt and pepper.
- Serve in bowls with a side of dressed green leaves and garlic bread.
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