Chicken Pomodoro

Noticing this recipe yesterday morning was a HUGE lifesaver! Lynda at "Lynda's Recipe Box" posts so many wonderful recipes that I have bookmarked to try, but when I saw this particular one, I knew it was going to be what we had for dinner! I nonchalantly mentioned to my husband the night before that I was wanting to try a new chicken recipe that I found that contained Dijon mustard and he seemed a bit disenchanted. My husband snubs ALL condiments--ketchup, mustard, mayo, etc! I wasn't about to lie to him, as I knew he'd be upset if he realized I neglected to mention that there was mustard in the dish (especially since it called for 3 tablespoons and likely would have had a very distinguishable mustard flavor), but the mere fact that he knew it contained mustard would have likely caused him to decide upfront that he didn't like it. When I saw this recipe on Lynda's blog, I knew immediately that my husband would be much more excited about dinner! This recipe was delicious and relatively quick to put together! Lynda did mention that her husband would have preferred more sauce and that was my husband's only complaint. I will definitely make this dish again, but next time, I will double the sauce. The recipe below is written almost exactly as Lynda had it posted on her blog, but I would suggest adding (2) cans of diced tomatoes and maybe 2/3-1 cup of heavy cream--I actually used half and half. Enjoy :)

Chicken Pomodoro

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
salt and pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
4 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil or 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 (14.5-ounce) can small diced tomatoes
1/3 cup heavy cream
Pasta of your choice (I used angel hair, per Lynda's suggestion!)

Directions:

Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken about 3 minutes per side, until golden brown; remove chicken to a plate.

Heat remaining oil in skillet and cook diced onion until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and pepper flakes, and dried basil, if using. Cook and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, cream and bring to a boil. Return chicken and accumulated juices to the skillet. Lower heat to a simmer and cover skillet. Cook until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes(depending on size of chicken breasts).

Transfer chicken to platter and tent with foil to keep warm. Continue to simmer sauce, uncovered, until slightly thickened, 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat. If using fresh basil, add it to skillet at this time, and season with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and pasta.

***Make sure you boil your pasta, according to the package instructions--if using angel hair, I added my pasta to the boiling water when I removed the chicken and allowed the sauce to thicken up--the angel hair only took about 4 minutes to boil.***

Source: Lynda's Recipe Box