Rotini with Chicken, Asparagus, and Tomatoes

Good morning! :)

I hope that you had a super week! We are still on vacation, (you can see photos here) but I have an amazing guest post to share with you all today!

Connie, from Selah Rain, is here to share a healthy recipe with you. 

I LOVE to cook! I love trying new things in my kitchen but I don't like to be in there for very long. I'd much rather spend that time enjoying my family. I've been searching for quite some time for simple meals that pack a lot of flavor in a little bit of time. This dish exceeded my expectations and was so delicious! I hope you love it as much as my family did!

This dish should only take about 7 minutes prep time and about 8 minutes for cook time. That's assuming you already have your chicken cut into 1/4-inch strips!

What you will need:

8 ounces uncooked rotini (corkscrew pasta)

Cooking spray

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/4-inch strips

1/2-teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup (1-inch) slices asparagus

2 cups cherry tomatoes

2 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled goat cheese (Of course I used more....I live dangerously)

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. 

(I salted. See living dangerously above.) Sorry for the no pasta cooking picture, I forgot!

2. While the pasta cooks, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; coat with cooking spray. (I used Crisco but I'm sure any will do!) Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken and asparagus to pan; saute` 5 minutes.

3. Add tomatoes and garlic to pan; saute` 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in pasta, basil, vinegar, and oil to chicken mixture in pan.

4. Top with cheese. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 cups). This yielded more than 4 servings for us.

This recipe is from Cooking Light: Fresh Food Fast Weeknight Meals

It recommends a really good looking salad to serve with it. We bailed on the salad but the recipe is below if you'd like to give it a try!

Spinach Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Prep time: 3 minutes

2 tablespoons minced shallots

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/8-teaspoon salt

Dash of black pepper

6 cups baby spinach

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add spinach; toss well; Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups).

Super easy! 

It's so full of flavor and color and tastes so good! Enjoy!!

Thanks Connie! :)  I will have to make this soon.  

Please head over to Selah Rain and follow this gal for more recipes, tips and some awesome photography!!