Grilled Chicken with Lemon Basil Pasta

Photo courtesy of thepioneerwoman.com

This is my new go-to recipe for having company over for dinner. I got it from The Pioneer Woman and it is phenomenal. I've tried a few of her recipes now and they all have been amazing. Basically nothing she makes is low calorie/low fat/low sugar but I believe splurges are completely justified every now and then. I've made this dish a few times now and it has always been a hit. I like to serve it for company because A) It serves a lot of people, B) It is pretty easy to make and C) Makes for a good presentation and is family style so I don't have to plate up everyone's meal.

Marinating the chicken makes it SO tender and delicious so I highly recommend NOT skipping this step. Also, the original recipe calls for the juice of 4 lemons in the sauce but that is WAY too much. Makes it so sour it is almost unbearable, especially if you use a citrus reamer like me and 4 lemons gives you a whole cup of juice! So I only use 2 lemons. But please oh please make this sometime soon. It is amazing!

Ingredients:
- 4 whole Grilled Chicken Breasts, Sliced (marinade instructions below)
- 1 pound Penne Pasta, cooked until Al Dente
- ½ stick of Butter
- 2 whole Lemons, juiced (I go for 1/2 cup of juice so if you have small lemons, you may need more lemons)
- ½ cups Heavy Cream
- ½ cups Half-and-half
- 1-½ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese (or Romano) (fresh grated is better than store bought grated, just use your food processor)
- Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste
- 20 whole fresh Basil Leaves, chopped

Preparation:

1. They day before, marinate chicken for 24 hours (I forgot to marinate them early one time so only did it for 10 hours and they were still good ... but 24 hours is better). Ree (The Pioneer Woman) didn't give exact amounts at all for each of the marinade ingredients so I'm estimating how much I used. Pour all the ingredients into a gallon sized ziplock bag then add chicken.

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1/4 c. Olive oil

Juice of four lemons

1-2 tablespoons Dijon

1 tablespoon honey

A dash of salt

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2. When you are ready to actually make the meal, cook pasta in a large pot, reserving 1 cup of hot pasta water when you drain. Set pasta aside in a colander. Mean while, grill marinated chicken, set aside and keep warm.

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3. In the same pot, melt butter over medium heat. Squeeze in the juice of 2-3 lemons. Whisk together. Pour in cream and half-and-half. Whisk until nice and hot. Dump in cheese and whisk until melted. Add salt and pepper.

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4. Add pasta to sauce and stir until pasta is totally covered. Check consistency, adding some of the hot pasta water to loosen the sauce if needed. (You probably won't have to use the whole cup of water, I use maybe 1/4 cup max). Add half of the chopped basil and stir to combine.

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5. Pour pasta and sauce into a large, pre-warmed serving bowl/dish. Sprinkle remaining basil all over the top, then add sliced chicken breasts on top. Serve immediately!

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If you want to see step by step pictures and instructions, you can look at the original post of this recipe here. Sometimes those pictures are very helpful!