New Recipe Night: Lemon Thyme Chicken & Angel Hair Pasta with Tomatoes

Just take one look at the picture. If you like chicken and you like pasta then I'm pretty sure your face will explode when you take a bite of this just like mine did. I really had no idea what to expect as far as flavor while I was whipping up this dish. I had decided that the picture made my mouth water so therefore I would be making it. ;) I've used my thyme from the spice rack a total of zero times. Thyme and I were not familiar with one another....but now I think we are pretty much on a best friend level at this point. Or maybe I'm giving Mr. Thyme too much of the credit. It could've been the zesty lemon or the magical buttery pasta sauce that made me want to eat every last serving. And I very well could've too...the hubs opted out of this because, unbeknownst to me, he had a reception at work where he ate a bunch of finger foods. I honestly think he walked in the door, saw the lemon on the counter and made up a quick excuse. Oh well, more for me!!!! I drooled over this recipe in a mag I picked up last week...The South's Best Comfort Food.

Yes please!!

Ingredients:


Lemon-Thyme Chicken:


*3/4 cup mayonnaise
*2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
*1 1/2 tsp lemon zest
*3/4 tsp salt
*1/4 tsp ground black pepper
*1/4 tsp garlic powder
*6 boneless, skinless chicken breast
* 1/2 cup graded Parmesan cheese
*fresh thyme sprigs for garnish (optional)


Angel Hair Pasta with Tomatoes


*1/2 cup butter
*3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
*1 tsp garlic powder
*1/2 tsp ground black pepper
*1 (12 ounce) container grape tomatoes (halved)
*1/2 cup chopped green onion
*1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
*1 package angel hair pasta (cooked according to package directions)


Directions:


Lemon-Thyme Chicken


1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Set aside.


2) In a small bowl, combine maynnaise, thyme, lemon zest, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Bursh mixture on both sides of chicken. Place chicken on prepared baking sheet.

3) Bake for 50 minutes. Sprinkle tops of chicken breasts with cheese. Bake until cheese is melted (5 to 10 minutes)

4) Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired. Serve over pasta






Angel Hair Pasta


1) In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add lemon juice, salt, garlic powder, and pepper, stirring well to combine. Add tomatoes and green onion. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Add parsely, stirring to combine.

2) Combine butter mixture with cooked pasta, tossing to coat.


The end.


It's confession time...as always. Yet again, I overcooked the entire pot full of pasta. Sheesh! That's two recipes in a row. So I did what I did last time the pasta got mushy on me and I dumped it out and made some more. Luckily I had an extra package of angel hair on hand. I'm on pasta watch from now on. I'm going to stand over that pot and not move a muscle until it's perfectly done. There's nothing more yucky than sticky pasta. I had a bit of trouble finding fresh thyme at the grocery store so I pulled some from the spice rack instead.


So here's the deal. This stuff is the bomb. Yes, I just said bomb. I reserve that term for very special moments when I want to make a point about how awesome something is. This is one of those times! I know I keep saying "this is a new favorite" everytime I make something new. But seriously. If I could eat this for every meal (including breakfast) I probably would. Oh yeah, one more thing...ENJOY!!!