Creamy Chicken & Bacon Penne

Chicken breast and bacon have always been my standard weekly grocery items. When you don’t have much time to prepare or think about dinner, this is the quickest and easiest dish you can do. You can always have bacon and chicken breast be ready in the freezer, and just divided them in portion for easy defrost and preparation.

Preparation time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 15 mins

Serves 2 adults + 1 kid

INGREDIENTS:

400-500g Chicken Breast – diced
1-2pcs Middle Bacon – Strips or diced
1 Red Onion – chopped
250g Pasta Penne
250ml Thicken Cream
1 Tbsp Butter
5-6 Button Mushroom – sliced
1-2cloves Garlic – minced

FOR GARNISHING:

Grated Parmesan Cheese
Shredded Spring Onion
Coriander – chopped

METHOD:

1. Cook Penne until al dente in salted and oiled boiling water. Scoop out a cup of pasta cooking water for use in making sauce later. Drain the rest.
2. While pasta is cooking bring a frying pan heating up the butter with a drizzle of cooking oil. This prevents the butter from burning.
3. Add strips of Bacon to pan and let bacon cook until half crunchy. Remove bacon from pan and put aside for later use.
4. Use the excess oil to cook the diced Chicken Breast until brown, season with a bit of pepper and salt.
5. Add Red Onion and Mushroom. Cook for 3-4 mins until slightly brown and add cream and half a cup of pasta water. Stir and simmer for about 2 mins until sauce reduces slightly.
6. Add the drained Penne to pan. Stir and toss well occasionally. The sauce will thicken and coat the pasta, if its too thick then add a bit of pasta water until it reaches the consistency you want.
7. Mix in the bacon, season with salt and pepper.
8. Serve immediately and garnish with grated Parmesan cheese and coriander.