Penne Gorgonzola with Chicken

After a stressful day at work, the mere thought of having to cook dinner is exhausting.  It’s nights like these that I like to have a few simple dinner ideas up my sleeve.  You know…the ones that you can usually pull together from basic ingredients in your pantry and the ones that don’t make a kitchen full of dirty dishes.

This recipe for Penne Gorgonzola with Chicken promised to be one of those recipes.  It looked pretty similar to one of my favorite dishes — Chicken Pasta Primavera.  I must have clipped this recipe from a magazine, but I’m not sure which one — probably a Taste of Home.

By the time I started cooking dinner, it was 6:30 PM.  I was starving, so I was hoping that this new recipe would taste as good as it sounded.  There was no way I would be able to make a back up dinner if this didn’t work.  It was this, or cereal.

The Recipe

1 package penne pasta (cooked according to package directions)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 cups (8 oz) Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
6-8 fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large skillet over medium heat, brown chicken on all sides in oil.  Add garlic and cook for 1-minute more.  Add wine and loosen any bits on bottom of pan.

Add cream and broth and cook until slightly thickened and chicken is no longer pink.  Stir in Gorgonzola cheese, sage,salt and pepper.  Cook just until cheese is melted.

Drain pasta and toss with sauce.  Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Variations

When I made this dish, I added steamed broccoli to the mix.  I steamed the broccoli separately and added it when I tossed the pasta with the sauce.   This made a great 1 dish meal, complete with vegetables!

I used whole grain pasta since we prefer the texture and extra body and I used 2 cloves of garlic (we are garlic junkies!).

Also, my husband does not like Gorgonzola cheese.  So, to make everyone happy, I kept the Gorgonzola out of the sauce.  I put the Gorgonzola in separate bowl, added some of the hot cream sauce and stirred until the cheese was melted.  I then added the pasta and broccoli and tossed until evenly coated.

Was it a keeper?

LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!  Fast and delicious.  Does it get any better than that?  I think next time I’ll also add steamed carrots and peas, in addition to the broccoli!   And, I think I think I’ll use Half and Half to cut some of the fat out.

I can’t wait to make this dish again!

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