Caprese Chicken Penne Recipe

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Penne pasta, chicken tomatoes, basil and mozzarella cheese combine to create a hearty 30-minute dinner that the entire family will enjoy! 

I’m notorious for standing in the pantry or in front of the refrigerator at 5:00 pm, browsing the ingredients on the shelves, trying to decide what to make for dinner. Some women are fantastic at creating menus and sticking with them, but I’m not one of them. I generally keep my favorite staples on hand and if a new recipe comes along I’ll add the ingredients to my grocery list.

This is why I love the Pasta Matchmaker Quiz from the Golden Grain® website so much. Have you tried it yet? Within seconds I receive a custom recipe perfectly suited for our family. Whether you are looking for a date night dish, a meal to serve a crowd, or a quick weeknight meal there is sure to be a match for your scenario. This particular night I made the following selections:

• A night in with the family
• Chicken
• Cold and rainy day
• Minimal Prep
• Kid Friendly

Based on those selections I received a delicious 30 minute meal to make for my family; Caprese Chicken Penne. Talk about easy and delicious! AND I already had almost everything I needed on hand so it was a great choice for us! I picked up a box of Golden Grain® Penne and some fresh basil at Walmart and dinner prep was already done.

Caprese Chicken Penne

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

16 oz. Golden Grain® Penne

4 T. olive oil

1 tsp. fresh chopped garlic

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1/3 c. fresh basil leaves, chopped or cut into thin strips

10-12 oz. cooked chicken, chopped or shredded

1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain well.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat 4 T. olive oil over med-high heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and basil and cook for 2 minutes.

Add chicken and simmer for 5 minutes until chicken is heated through.

Add cooked pasta and cheese to the skillet.

Toss to combine. Serve immediately.

My Caprese chicken penne dish was so delicious and easy. What a great tool to have at my disposal! I will definitely be using the Pasta Matchmaker quiz for future dinner recipes.

Just for fun I put in a few other scenarios and received recipes for Cheesy Broccoli Pasta, Beef Stroganoff and Noodles, Angel Hair Caprese, and Angel Hair with Shrimp and Fresh Basil. Seriously, they all sound amazing!

Try the Pasta Matchmaker Quiz then head to Walmart to pick up your ingredients so that you can put your own spin on one of the Golden Grain®recipes. Enter it into the Pasta Matchmaker Challenge for a chance to win prizes! There are 6 challenges happening:

• Challenge #1: January 1 – January 21
• Challenge #2: January 22 – February 4
• Challenge #3: February 5 – February 18
• Challenge #4: February 19 – March 4
• Challenge #5: March 5 – March 18
• Challenge #6: March 19 – April 1

Be sure to Enter here!

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