Good Enough To Eat: Garlic Pesto Chicken and Tomato Cream Penne

I found this recipe on Pinterest and it just looked so delicious I had to try it.  Since I am off of work for the summer I have a lot more time to plan meals and cook and this recipe looked like a good one to try.  It was easy to make and really delicious!  We ended up with leftovers, which is always a good thing.  

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

1/2 bottle of Herb and Garlic Marinade (I used the store brand instead of Lawry's and it tasted wonderful)
2 large spoonfuls of Pesto
Chicken tender cutlets (you can use chicken breasts and cut them into strips, but buying the strips is easier)

For the pasta:

Whole grain/whole wheat penne

2 tablespoons of olive oil
3 cloves of garlic- minced
2 spoonfuls of pesto
1/2 cup of chicken broth (about half a can)
8 ounces of tomato sauce (I used Ragu Sweet Tomato Basil)
1 cup of half and half 

How to make it:

Mix the marinade and pesto.

Place the raw chicken in a large ziploc and cover with the marinade/pesto mixture

Marinate for half a day or more 

Once the chicken is done marinating, you are ready to put the meal together.  

Start the water and boil the penne.

While the water and penne is boiling, pour the entire marinade and chicken into a skillet and cook the chicken fully.

Heat the olive oil in a separate pot and cook the garlic. 

Add 2 spoonfuls of pesto to the olive oil/garlic mixture.

Add in the chicken broth and simmer until half has cooked off.  

Pour in tomato sauce and then add half and half.

Simmer sauce mixture until it thickens a little (5-7 minutes).  

If the sauce needs to be thicker add a little flour.  

Once sauce is thickened, toss with penne.  Serve chicken on top of pasta.  Enjoy!!