Asiago Chicken Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach

Asiago Chicken Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach – chicken breast sauteed with garlic in a delicious Asiago cheese cream sauce, perfectly complemented by spinach and sun-dried tomatoes!  Comfort food made with fresh ingredients.

Short pasta, such as penne, is perfect for creamy recipes like this one – Asiago cheese cream sauce perfectly coats every single pasta bite. Both pasta and chicken are literally drowning in the Asiago sauce deliciousness! This recipe can easily be made gluten free by using gluten free brown rice penne.

Asiago Chicken Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 
 
Ingredients

• 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes with oil (2 tablespoons)
• 1 lb chicken breast, sliced in half, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• salt
• paprika
• 1 cup half and half (and more) - (half milk - half cream to form a lighter cream)
• 1/4 teaspoon sal
• 1 cup Asiago cheese, grated
• 8 oz penne pasta (use gluten free brown rice penne, for gluten free version
• 2 cups fresh spinach

 Read More :  Asiago Chicken Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach

Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing

Salads aren’t just for the warm weather months, but when I get my vegetable cravings in the winter I change up my salads with heartier vegetables and ingredients that have warm, smoky flavors, like roasted vegetables and smoked paprika. This Roasted Cauliflower Salad is actually a play on one of my other favorite salads, Mediterranean Farro Salad. I used the same Lemon Tahini dressing (because it’s so good that I want to pour it on everything) and spiced chickpeas because I thought they would provide just the right punch to compliment the mellow roasted cauliflower. I think this combination of roasted cauliflower, sweet red onions, spiced chickpeas, and tangy lemon tahini dressing might be my favorite yet!

I used parsley as the greens in my salad because it’s cheap and the presence is subtle enough to not over power the cauliflower and chickpeas. Baby spinach would also work, as would finely chopped kale, but both will likely be a bit more expensive.

And if you’ve never heard of tahini, it’s just like peanut butter, but made with sesame seeds instead of peanuts. It has a creamy yet slightly sharp flavor that is totally unique. It’s usually about twice the price of peanut butter, but it’s a valuable ingredient and stays good in the fridge for just about forever (just like peanut butter). You can use it to make gobs of delicious homemade hummus, as well as this amazing lemon tahini dressing. I promise you’ll want more of this dressing.

Ingredients

•     1 head cauliflower $2.99
•     1/2 red onion $0.55
•     2 Tbsp olive oil $0.32
•     Salt and Pepper to taste $0.05
•     1/2 bunch parsley $0.45

LEMON TAHINI DRESSING

•     1/3 cup tahini $1.13
•     1/3 cup water $0.00
•     1/4 cup lemon juice $0.18
•     2 cloves garlic, minced $0.16
•     1/2 tsp cumin $0.05
•     1/4 tsp cayenne $0.03
•     1/4 tsp salt $0.02

SPICED CHICKPEAS

•     15 oz can chickpeas $0.79
•     1 Tbsp olive oil $0.16
•     1/2 tsp smoked paprika $0.05
•     1/4 tsp garlic powder $0.03
•     1/8 tsp cayenne $0.02
•     Salt and Pepper to taste $0.05 

Read More:  Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing