Bowtie pasta with chicken and white cream sauce

This recipe is simple to make and has always been a family favorite. But, you must follow the instructions carefully or the end result may end up being "Yuck" instead of "Yum". I make the meal to feed a family of 5, and there's enough to feed a couple of guests or as leftovers. You may want to read these instructions before you begin.

Before you begin, a note about the seasonings and butter. I add enough seasoning to taste. I estimate that I use about 1 tablespoon of the Italian seasoning mix, however once you start adding the mix to your chicken you may end up using a little more or less. The Italian season mix is pre-made and can be found in the seasonings section at your grocer.

What you'll need:

1 box of Bowtie Pasta - Cooked and drained
2 large chicken breasts
1 Pint whipping cream
1 bag of Parmesan cheese (1 1/2 - 2 cup size)
1- 6 OZ package fresh mushrooms (you must use fresh mushrooms) - Slice them julienne style.
1- Red or Yellow bell pepper - Sliced julienne style
2 cloves garlic - Chopped in small pieces.
1 - Tbsp Italian seasonings (oregano,thyme, etc.)
2 Tbsp butter (I use a butter stick)
Olive oil or olive oil pan spray


Cook the bowtie pasta according to package directions. While the pasta is cooking, place chicken in a skillet pan with about a small amount of olive oil (just enough so that the chicken does not stick) and cook until done, but do not overcook otherwise they end up being dry. Just before the chicken is completely cooked, add the Italian seasoning mix, and stir in. Once the chicken is done, remove from heat, place in a bowl and set aside.

In the same skillet as you cooked the chicken (make sure you removed the chicken), place the bell pepper, garlic and mushrooms with about 1/2 teaspoon of butter and saute them together. Once the mushrooms and pepper are a little bit tender, remove from heat and place in a bowl. Placing them in the bowl for a couple of minutes will help some of the excess juices drain.

Turn off heat to the skillet, return the chicken, and spoon the vegetables back into the pan and mix with the chicken. Do not turn the heat back on, the heat from the vegetables be enough.

In the same pot as you cooked the bowtie pasta (which should have been cooked according to package direction), place about 1 1/2 TBSP of butter to the bottom of the pan and turn the heat to medium. Stir in enough whipping cream to mix in with the butter (not too much, you only want to mix a little bit, enough to make sure the butter does not start to burn. Add the cooked bowtie pasta to the pan and stir. Add some more of the whipping cream and stir, then add the chicken and vegetable mixture and stir.

Slowly add the whipping cream, and stir frequently, add the Parmesan cheese ( a little at a time or it may clump up on you) and keep stirring. Once all the whipping cream has been added, and you added the Parmesan cheese, remove from heat and pour the contents into a deep bowl to serve at the table or serve onto individual plates.

When adding the Parmesan, although the recipe calls for 1 1/2 - 2 cups, feel free to add as little or as much as you want. I sometimes will only use about 1 cup of cheese, and use the remaining for topping on bread.

We eat the meal with bread sticks and salad (olive oil and red wine vinegar dressing). If you plan on eating salad and bread with the meal, you may want to have them ready to be fixed before you start the chicken dish because once you start mixing the whipping cream and Parmesan cheese in the pan, there will not be time do anything else until they are removed from the heat.

Enjoy the meal and let me know how it comes out.