Chicken and Pesto Farfalle

This recipe should be made on a day you have more time.  A day off or weekend day.  If you have someone watch the grill and another person inside it would go a bit faster.  Since it's still pretty cold out I chose to pan fry the chicken in my nice toasty kitchen.  My almost 2 and almost 4 year old also aren't huge fans of raw tomato so I added the tomatoes just after the garlic to break them down.  The end result was delish but you would have an even better display with them raw.  Overall I would am definately making this recipe again.  The next time I may experiment more by adding some spicy sausage and adding the tomatoes a bit later to soften but keep their form.  Serve this dish with a simple salad and crusty bread or garlic toast.  This dish makes a large amount, so feed it to your guests and you'll be sure to impress ;-)

Recipe Modifications

• Used 2 cups grape tomatoes and 2 cups mini heirloom tomatoes instead of all grape 
• Added the tomatoes after the garlic to soften them for the younger ones in our home
• Used a Knorr packet to make my own pesto.  Less calories and you can use your favorite olive oil.  Added 1/2 cup of pesto instead of 1/3 a cup
• Pan fried the chicken.  Then used the pan for the sauce so you gain the flavor of the chicken left behind

Ingredients
1 3/4  pounds  skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1  teaspoon  salt, divided
3/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper, divided
Cooking spray
20  ounces  uncooked farfalle (bow tie pasta)
1  tablespoon  butter
3  garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2  cups  1% low-fat milk, divided
2  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
1  (3.5-ounce) jar commercial pesto (about 1/3 cup)
3/4  cup  half-and-half
2  cups  (8 ounces) shredded fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
4  cups  halved grape tomatoes (about 2 pints)
1/2  cup  chopped fresh basil


Recipe
This recipe comes from my favorite source Cooking Light. Not diet food, but food that is conscious of health without losing any flavor. Food for life! 

Click Here for Recipe