Basil Chicken Pasta

Last week my brother-in-law John came home with a pack of frozen basil that he was pretty pumped about. Just a few days later I came across this recipe on Jaime's blog, Good Eats n' Sweet Treats, and I forwarded it right to John. He cooked this up for our dinner on Monday night. This was a very simple and quick recipe, however ours could have used more flavor. John omitted the hot sauce because he didn't realize we had any, but the dish could have benefited from a little kick. It also didn't have too much basil flavor, as John wasn't sure of just how strong his frozen basil was and didn't want to overwhelm the dish. He did follow Jaime's suggestion though to make the sauce creamy by adding 1/4 cup fat free half and half. Over all, this was a good dinner but I recommend that you don't skimp on the basil and do add a little hot sauce or red pepper flake for some punch!

Basil Chicken Pasta

1 (8 ounce) package angel hair pasta
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 (14 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with garlic and basil
2 cups boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and cubed
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/4 cup fat free half and half
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook angel hair pasta until it is al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and set aside. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Saute the onions and garlic. Stir in the tomatoes, chicken, basil, salt and hot pepper sauce. Reduce heat to medium, and cover skillet. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until mixture is hot and tomatoes are soft.Toss sauce with hot cooked angel hair pasta to coat. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Tucker, for one, was quite impressed with this dinner. He wanted some in the worst way. Sorry, Tuck, there were actually no leftovers ;)