Chicken Primavera

Chicken Primavera!  This is a quick and easy dinner to prepare which happens to be very tasty and pretty healthy!  I like to add a little bit of butter to the olive oil when sauteing the veggies because it gives it a hearty richness.  Those are the words I came up with but it does enhance the flavor!  There is something about combining olive oil in butter together they just make a great sauce!

I have had this at several luncheons and will have to say I am always surprised at how much I like it.  It's so much better than the rice pilaf and dry chicken  that ya get sometimes at luncheons and banquets.. Funny thing is I am a caterer and I just got a request for rice pilaf and grilled chicken but I am determined it will be different!  I usually say no to that because I think it's just so typical and there is so much more you can serve a large crowd than that!  How can you tell a sweet Southern Lady, NO she said that is what they want!  So that is what they will get!

Some bread and a salad would go well with this or even oven roasted asparagus (which the recipe is on this blog)!  You could sprinkle some fresh grated Parmesan cheese on top before serving.

When seasoning to taste I just always say you can always add more later so start off light then add more to taste.  If you add too much too soon it's pretty hard to recover!!  I just sprinkle some on lightly then go from there!

Also I have had this with different pastas so use what you have on hand if you want to!

Here is what you will need..I just used two chicken breast and it was enough for 4

Go ahead and put your water on to boil for your pasta and cook to the directions on the pkg

In the a large skillet add olive oil and heat on medium.

I butterflied the chicken because because it was thick... it's hard to tell in this pic because I ended up separating them.. Season chicken with salt, pepper and garlic salt.  Cook Chicken until it is cook throughout and browned then remove from skillet.  Once cooled cut into strips and set aside.

While chicken is cooking julienne (slice thin) the veggies.

They didn't have a yellow pepper so I just used a red one

Remove chicken from the pan add butter and some more olive oil....just enough to coat the bottom of pan.

Saute veggies in the skillet (the steam blurred some of the pic;)

Add tomatoes at the end just so they get incorporate but not mushy.  Season the veggies with salt, pepper,  Garlic Salt (with green lid) and Italian seasoning.  Don't let veggies get mushy (by over cooking them) cook until soften.

In a bowl (or in your skillet) toss together pasta, chicken and veggies and add Parmesan cheese then toss to cover

Beautiful colors!

Chicken Primavera

·        2 to 4 chicken breast

·        3 carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips (julienned)

·        1 medium zucchini, cut into thin strips (julienned)

·        1 yellow squash, cut into thin strips (julienned)

·        ½ of a onion, thinly sliced

·        1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips (julienned)

·        1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips (julienned)

·        1/4 cup olive oil

·        2 Tbsp butter

·        Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

·        Lawry’s Garlic Salt with Green lid

·        Pinch of dried Italian herbs or herbes de Provence

·        1 pound farfalle (bowtie pasta)

·        15 cherry tomatoes, halved

·        2 Tbsp grated Parmesan (you can add more)

Directions

In a skillet on medium heat add some olive oil coating the bottom of the pan and cook chicken until browned about 12 to 15 minutes.  Remove chicken from pan.

In the same skillet, toss all of the vegetables with the oil, salt, pepper, and dried herbs to coat. Saute until tender and vegetables began to brown.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.

Slice chicken in strips then toss the pasta with chicken and vegetable mixture in skillet to combine. Toss with the cherry tomatoes and enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten (maybe 2 Tbsp to start). Season the pasta with salt and pepper, garlic salt, to taste. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve immediately.