8ouncesrigatoni, cooked al dente(about half a box)
Instructions
Cut 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and place it in a medium bowl. Toss the chicken with ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon garlic powder and ½ teaspoon onion powder.
In a dutch oven over medium heat, add 2 Tablespoons olive oil and 2 Tablespoons salted butter. Add the chicken in 3 batches to lightly brown it and ensure it is cooked. About 5 minutes per batch. Once cooked, place the chicken on a plate and set it aside.
Add 8 ounces jarred sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped, 4 cloves garlic, minced and 2 Tablespoons prepared pesto to the pan, stir to combine, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add 1 cup unsalted chicken stock and scrape any bits off the bottom of the pan. Add in 2 cups heavy cream.
Bring to a simmer. Add 2 cups baby spinach, ½ teaspoon kosher salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper, stir it in and let the spinach wilt in the sauce.
Add in the cooked chicken, ½ cup grated parmesan cheese and 8 ounces rigatoni, cooked al dente. Stir to combine and coat everything in the sauce.
Bring back to a simmer, occasionally stirring until everything is heated through. Serve immediately with more parmesan cheese for garnish.
Video
Notes
Other pastas can be used, see suggestions above.
If you want more of the sun-dried tomato flavor, add in sun-dried pesto instead of regular or do half and half.
Other meats can be used such as diced pork tenderloin, salmon and shrimp.
This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
Other vegetables can be used, see some of my suggestions above.
NOTE: The sun dried tomatoes in the video may seem darker than you are used to. That is because they were made from an heirloom variety tomato that are darker in color.