Pep up your pasta with chicken tenders, lemon pepper, fresh herbs and garlic

I never get tired of chicken. I fix a chicken dish once a week — usually roasted chicken thighs with various seasonings, or a recipe I call That Chicken Thing (chicken cooked in a covered casserole dish with vegetables). My daughter, bless her cotton socks, got tired of her mom’s chicken a few years before she left for college. Fortunately, she inherited her father’s British politeness, in which vehement dislike is expressed in the mildest possible terms. I kept making chicken, but I felt a little bad every time I laid it on the table in front of her. She ate it without comment but I knew the anguish she felt in her heart, or rather on her tongue.

I may be overdramatizing just a bit. She was generally appreciative of my cooking, even if she didn’t love every dish, but I got such a warm glow from feeding her things she truly enjoyed. She was under our roof for 20 years — which seems like an awfully short time now that it’s done — and I endeavored to make those years as full of joy as possible. (I am not, as you may have discerned, a tough love sort of parent. I’m more of a let’s-go-swimming-and-have-ice cream parent because, well, that’s fun for me, too. Who says parenting can’t be agreeable?)

However, now that she’s away at college, I can please myself by cooking chicken as many times a week as I want. My husband has no complaints about that because he also loves chicken and he’s happy to take the leftovers to work for lunch the next day. So I was pleased to stumble across a recipe for pasta with chicken tenders, cherry tomatoes and basil (plus a small mountain of Parmesan cheese). I enhanced the recipe with a container of spinach along with a few dashes of piquant lemon pepper. I liked that the recipe features whole chicken breast tenders, which I don’t often prepare because thighs are more flavorful. However, chicken tenders are easy and quick to cook and it was a nice change from my usual roasted bird.

Cook three cups of dry cavatappi (or whatever pasta you like; I used a combination of cavatappi and penne rigate) in generously salted water. Drain, leaving just a little water, then transfer to a large bowl and toss with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil or butter and a little salt. While the pasta is boiling (it should take about 10 minute to al dente) you can get the chicken and vegetables started.

Start by sauteing two to three minced garlic cloves in a large skillet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat. Add a few dashes of salt and lemon pepper, then add one pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders. Cook on both sides until ever so slightly browned.

Open a 16.5-ounce container of cherry tomatoes and slice them all in half. When the chicken is browned, add the tomatoes along with two to three more minced garlic and a tablespoon of fresh chopped oregano. Simmer until tomatoes are soft and wrinkly and taste to make sure you’ve got enough salt. Then add ½ cup chopped fresh basil and a 5-ounce container of spinach — all of it. Even though it seems like way too much spinach, it will cook down in a few minutes.

I should add a note here about the fresh herbs in this dish. I think they add a lot to this dish, but I know that you might not have fresh herbs on hand. They’re out of season and you might not relish an extra trip to the grocery store just for those little green guys. I generally advise folks to use what they have rather than buying extra, so if you want to use dried herbs, add a teaspoon of dried oregano and a tablespoon of dried basil (or just add herbs to taste). The lemon pepper also makes a wonderful difference, but you can substitute plain black pepper and no one will suffer because they won’t know what they’re missing.

After the spinach is soft, stir everything together and simmer it on low while you grate a wedge of fresh Parmesan cheese. (I grated most of a 1/3-pound slice and got about 1 cup of grated cheese.) Pour the hot chicken, cherry tomatoes and spinach over the pasta with ½ cup grated Parmesan. Toss everything together until it’s nice and friendly. Consider adding more Parmesan. Agree with yourself that it’s a good idea. Tell yourself you’ll only add a little but then add another ½ cup, since that’s what you’ve grated anyway. Deploy cheese generously over your warm and delicious pasta with tasty chicken and healthy vegetables. Ignore everyone who says that chicken is boring. Sometimes it’s okay to please yourself.

Pasta With Chicken, Cherry Tomatoes and Spinach

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast tenderloins

3 heaping cups uncooked cavatappi or penne

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

4-6 cloves minced garlic

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

1 16.5-ounce container of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

½ cup chopped fresh basil

1 5-ounce container of fresh baby spinach

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and lemon pepper to taste

Cook pasta. Toss with a little salt and 1-2 tablespoons olive oil or butter. Set aside. Saute two to three cloves of garlic in 2 tablespoons olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add chicken tenderloins. Cook on medium until slightly browned on both sides. Add sliced cherry tomatoes with remaining garlic. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until tomatoes soften. Add salt and lemon pepper to taste. Add fresh basil and entire container of spinach. Stir together and let simmer on low for another five to ten minutes. Toss chicken, tomatoes and spinach with cooked pasta and ½ cup Parmesan. Serve with remaining Parmesan to sprinkle on top.