Ok… so picture is from a cell phone and not edited… but that’s ok! We had friends over!! Our sweet friends came over for dinner as a “farewell” since they are moving far, far away…. so we had to have them over! I made the above meal… something on the more simple side… pasta with chicken and vegetables… my favorite theme!!! And then I made a fruit crisp as dessert. I did NOT take a picture of that, and I definitely should have because it actually turned out really yummy! Oh well, another day and another crisp…

So, as my friends got here I was elbow deep in a large pot of pasta… had to make sure there was enough pasta for us all!! I made 2 lbs… lets just say I have leftovers… HA! Oh well, better to over prepare then to not have enough for hungry guests, am I right!!??? 

So, here is the recipe!

Bowtie Pasta with Basil and Parmesan with a Light Tomato sauce

Ingredients: 

• 1 lb Bow Tie Pasta (Or your other favorite pasta) – yes, I reduced it to 1 lb for your sake… 😉
• 2 tbs Olive Oil
• 1-2 cloves garlic minced
• ½ Onion chopped
• 1 can Italian fire roasted tomatoes and 1 can Rotel, or similar
• 2 tbs chicken broth
• 8 chicken tenderloins cooked and cut into bite size pieces
• 10 leaves Fresh Basil chopped
• Shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Preheat a large pan over medium high heat. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions.
2. As the pasta cooks, add the oil to the pan and add the chicken tenderloins. Season with salt and pepper and a bit of ground cumin on each side. Cook through and remove from the pan. Add then 1 TB oil to the pan and add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions start to get translucent, about 3-5 minutes.
3. Next add the tomatoes and cook until they start to simmer. Add the chicken broth and bring back to a simmer.
4. Toss in the chicken and basil, bring back to a simmer, and season with salt and pepper. Serve over the pasta and top with Parmesan cheese.

I served this with sauteed zucchini and it went quite well!!!

Enjoy! I know we did!!!

And now, for the quote of the day: