It rains constantly here in the winter so comfort food is always something we crave. What is it about dreary weather that makes you want to eat? And not just eat anything, it has to be goood. And warm. And full of flavor. Cheesy and buttery helps too.
I also crave easy to make dinners. Lately I’ve found myself saying “this is my busy time of year”. But I’m finding I’m saying that all year round. The wheel basically never stops turning. Part of me thinks I’d like to jump off, but then what would I do?
So now I have my busy times (which is always) and my busier times, (which is 25% of the time). Help! I know everyone is busy, I just don’t ever remember so much craziness. We are all living the over-scheduled life. Anyway, just like you, I always have to find a way to make dinner easier, faster and better. And everyone in my family seems to have an opinion on how I could do that. They are so helpful:).
This pasta dish is one of my go to recipes. It starts with having extra cooked chicken breasts around. I always cook more than I need when I’m making a chicken meal. I leave the extra breasts plain, stick them in the fridge and cube them up the next day for a dish like this. You could also cook up the chicken especially for this meal, it just takes more time (but it’s doable). Leftover rotissere chicken is also an option.
While I love a good pasta sauce, sometimes I just don’t want it. Making pasta this way allows for some real yummy goodness and a real rustic feel, sans the sauce. Let’s face it, with bacon, chicken and sun-dried tomato, who needs the sauce.
This should be illegal.
I also tossed in some of my fave Litehouse chives for flavor. Have you guys tried these freeze-dried herbs yet? I love having them around.
These leftovers can be turned into a soup. Tomorrow I will show you how! It’s so good and you’ll have another easy meal.
Rustic Chicken-Bacon-Sun-Dried Tomato Penne Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound penne pasta
- 1 pound cooked skinless, boneless chicken breast, cubed
- 7 slices thick cut bacon, diced
- 1 jar (8-10 oz) julienned sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 Tablespoon chives, freeze-dried or fresh
- 1/2 cup aged white cheddar or Parmesan, finely grated
Directions
- Boil pasta according to package directions. In a large skillet, brown bacon over medium heat until it begins to crisp. Add in cubed chicken, sun-dried with half the oil that's in the jar, butter and chives. Continue to saute until bacon is crisp and chicken is warmed through. Add pasta into skillet and toss with cheese until all ingredients are incorporated. Taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary. This usually depends if your chicken was seasoned originally or not. Serve immediately.
- ~ Another amazing addition to this dish is marinated artichoke hearts. I always add them in if I have them in the house.
Jayne says
I know! It’s never a bad time to whip up easy dinners. I do that all the time because I want food.fast.now! Did a simple tuna pasta last night in under 30 minutes. These look so gorgrous esp the sundried tomatoes. Love how deep and flavourful they get.
the 3volution of j3nn says
Killer flavor combination! I have those freeze dried chives, they’re so good. I don’t believe I’ve ever had chives with pasta. Reminds me to broaden my palate a little more.
Cathy says
Yep, you need to try it!!
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom says
Oh my GOODNESS! This looks soooooo good! I LOVE pasta! Definitely going to try this one!
Cathy says
Thanks Alice!
Kim in MD says
All that rain makes great grapes for great wine, right? Speaking of which, are you able to ship your wine to Maryland yet? Our state finally passed the law allowing us to ship wine to our residents (yeah). If you ship to Maryland I would like to place an order! 🙂
The pasta looks mouthwatering, Cathy! I have never tried the Litehouse freeze dried herbs. I’ll have to look for them!
Cathy says
Hi Kim-
We don’t carry the Maryland license. Sorry. Most of our MD customers ship their wine to D.C.
Kim in MD says
I was afraid of that! I need to make some friends in DC! 🙂
kristy @ the wicked noodle says
So few ingredients but so much flavor!! My kind of dish. I hear you about the busy times only getting busier. I seem to always be telling myself things like “As soon as summer is over things will slow down” or “The holidays are so busy but we’ll have so much time in January” etc. etc. The girls are both home from school with colds today and we’re going to just CHILL. Right after I get that blog post written that’s due today and the photographs taken from the dish I’m making this afternoon 😉
Cathy says
It’s never slowing down…it ramps up more and more every year. Hope the girls feel better.
Brenda says
I made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious! I did put in artichokes, as suggested, and it was perfect! Thanks for another winning recipe, Noble Pig!
Cathy says
Glad to hear it!!
NancyC says
Both the pasta and the soup you just posted sound delicious!
Taneisha Manning says
I just fixed this dish and I must say that it is absolutely delicious. It will be my new favorite – “Go To” quick dish. Thank you.
Anna L says
Made this on Friday – my three boys were drooling. My five year old: “mummy, thank you for making this delicious food!” LOL so honest 🙂
Marni Sandberg says
I made this for dinner tonight…another great dish from you. My youngest son, who hates any and all sauces but is a true carnivore, proclaimed this to be the best pasta dish ever. Thanks for the recipe!
Laura Brown says
Made this tonight for dinner, it was as delicious as it sounded. I did not have any chives so used frresh Rosmary instead. Quick, easy and yummy. Noble Pig never let me down Whenever I’m looking for a unique recipie. Thank you!
Annie says
I halved the recipe for 2 of us. Flavourful and easy. And enough for another leftover meal.
I used 2 chicken thighs and fried it along with the bacon. 1/2 of jar of sundried tomatoes and freeze dried chives. Yum!
Cathy says
Great!
Katy says
Thank you for such an easy dinner. As always I was running late and forgot about dinner completely, looked in the fridge and found bacon and sundried tomatoes and searched for ideas. Lucky for me I also have leftover chicken. I threw this together and the family loved it! Not an easy task with my crew.