Matt's Penne Pasta

Well, it's been a CRAZY week! My daughter turned 2 on Tuesday and we've had a birthday extravaganza since then! I have tried a couple of times this week to post an entry on my blog but to no avail. It started Tuesday with me trying to bake a cake in my shocking gas oven, only to have it burn to a crisp. After the cake incident, I thought I'd whip up some cupcakes which were OK but not great. And we've eaten out every night this week that there was nothing else for me to post!

However, today I set my mind to it! I was going to write my blog! Matt has been begging me for ages to cook him his favourite pasta meal. A meal that when I first came up with the recipe (yes I created this dish!) Matt turned his nose up at it but within 15 minutes he was singing its praises!

I came up with this recipe about 4 years ago when we first moved from Sydney to Melbourne. I remember feeling like a pasta dish but was over the stock standard Spaghetti Bolognese that I was cooking on a weekly basis. I flicked through a few cook books and magazines and I think I used some recipes for inspiration and truthfully whatever was in the fridge!

This pasta dish turned out to be a huge success! Such a success that Matt started requesting his penne pasta almost every week and it got to the point where I was sick of it! I actually haven't cooked this pasta in over a year so it's fitting it made its return tonight for my blog.

Lastly, for any vegetarians reading, this pasta sauce tastes great without the chicken and even staunch meat eaters won't miss the omission of chicken!

Enjoy

Ingredients

500g chicken breasts, diced
2 x zucchini, thinly sliced in circles
2 tbl spoons olive oil
zest and juice of 1 lemon
150g feta, crumbled
300g penne pasta
200ml light pouring cream
chili flakes to your liking
salt & pepper to season

Method


Cook pasta according to packet directions. Meanwhile heat oil in a large hot pan and add chicken. Saute chicken until the meat is no longer pink.

Add the zucchini and cook until tender.

Once the zucchini is cooked through, add the lemon zest and juice and the chilli flakes. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes.

Drain the pasta and toss through the sauce, making sure to combine the ingredients well together. Stir through the cream. Turn off the heat and add the feta cheese, combining all ingredients together gently.

Serve immediately.