Chicken Pesto Pasta

You know when you just throw what you have left in the fridge into a pan and hope for the best? Well that’s pretty much what I did with this recipe a few weeks ago. And I was pleasantly surprised when it tasted bloody lovely! and It’s now one of our favourites. Comfort food for me, is a big old bowl of pasta. And I love that I can enjoy this without all the guilt. This pesto pasta dish still tastes super creamy but with a lot less calories. It’s also super quick and easy to make and very family friendly!

Ingredients (Serves 4 but can easily be halved and is 3 syns per portion on Slimming World)

• 2-3 Chicken breasts, cut into chunks (you could replace this with any variety of sausages, bacon or even pork loin)
• Half a pack of mushrooms, cut into slices
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 1 red or yellow pepper, chopped
• A handful of baby leaf spinach
• 1 tub of lightest Philadelphia
• 3 tbsps. of green pesto
• 300g – 400g Penne pasta depending on your usual portion size

Method

1. Cook the penne pasta as normal
2. Whilst your pasta is cooking, spritz a non stick frying pan with some fry light and cook your chicken over a medium to high heat
3. Add in the onion, mushrooms and pepper and fry off until soft
4. In a bowl mix together the Philadelphia cheese and the pesto, add 1 tbsp. of water to loosen the mix slightly
5. Once your pasta is cooked, drain and return to the pan then mix in the chicken, onions, mushrooms and pepper mix followed by the spinach
6. Stir the pesto Philadelphia sauce through the pasta then serve with lots of ground black pepper and a side salad / extra veg if you wish!
7. ENJOY!

Harriet XO