Spinach Tomato Chicken Pasta

I needed a meal that could be thrown together quickly, so I headed over to Google Reader to look at posted I had starred previously. I had all the ingredients to make this recipe so I gave it a shot.

I really liked how it turned out. It was very light and reminded me of summer. Hubby wasn’t crazy about it (probably because I left the cheese out)… But I really enjoyed eating it for lunches the next couple of days.

Spinach Tomato Chicken Pasta (from sweet-savory-southern)2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
1/3 of a 16 oz box of fettuccine (most any pasta would work) – I used angel hair
1 1/2 cups baby spinach, washed
1 small tomato, cut into chunks
1/2 stick butter
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan cheese – I left this out
salt and pepper

Begin boiling the water for the pasta. Add pasta to salted water and boil for about 8 min or until al dente. Drain the pasta and place in a bowl with spinach. (The heat from the pasta will wilt the spinach down a little.)

Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium/high heat with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Salt and pepper the chicken and add to the pan. Cook for about 10 min or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove the chicken from the skillet and add a couple more tablespoons of olive oil to the pan along with the butter.

When the butter is melted, add the chopped garlic. Saute for 2-3 min to cook the garlic. Pour garlic butter over the pasta and spinach and toss in the chicken and chopped tomato. Toss to combine all the ingredients. Add additional salt and pepper as needed. Top with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

*a squirt of lemon juice right before serving would be good on this, too