Chicken on a Beef Day

It's Mother's Day week, and women should celebrate life's little victories, don't you think? I'm certainly no Superwoman. I wouldn't look good in the costume anyway, so it's just as well. 

We got more of the baby calves and their mamas moved to pasture this week. (More on that later.) It went well, despite a close call or two when I let a couple of calves get around me while we were sorting. Thankfully, Jake is younger and quicker than me and got the gate closed before the babies escaped into another pen, where we would have had to start the process all over again.

But, even though I spent all morning outside, I still got a new recipe on the table for our noon meal, along with a lettuce salad packed with fresh veggies. Even better? It got good reviews, and there were plenty of leftovers. Bonus!

Though my cattleman prefers beef, he will eat chicken. Since my time was limited, I opted to use frozen chicken breasts rather than grilling a steak and using the pasta as a side dish. Because I had less than 30 minutes, I cooked the chicken breasts via the microwave, putting some pesto on top of each breast to give additional flavor and moistness. 

We ate the pasta dish warm for our noon meal, and that's Randy's preference. I have eaten some cold for subsequent meals, and that's good, too, If you're looking for a good pasta salad or side dish for Mother's Day, try this Chicken & Bowtie Feta Pasta - with or without the chicken and served warm or cold. Moms love options, don't we? 

 Enjoy!

Chicken and Bowtie Feta Pasta

3 chicken breasts (see below)*
1 12-oz. package bowtie pasta (farfalle)
3/4 cup prepared pesto
1/2 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
Salt, to taste
Freshly-ground pepper to taste
Olive oil or additional pesto as needed

*  The original recipe didn't call for any meat. However, I added chicken to make this a main dish meal. Since I had limited time, I put three frozen chicken breasts in a 9-inch-square baking dish and covered with a little prepared pesto. I covered with plastic wrap and then cooked in the microwave until the chicken tested done. Cooking it in the microwave with the pesto kept it moist and gave it good flavor. I then cut the chicken into bite-sized chunks to add to the completed pasta dish. You could use leftover grilled chicken, too.

Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente. Drain and run under cold water to stop cooking. Mix pasta with pesto, tomatoes and feta cheese. Mix in prepared chicken. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If needed, moisten with additional olive oil or a little more pesto, especially if you need to reheat to serve again.

Serves at least 6, main-dish-sized portions. You could also serve this as a side dish or a salad. I liked it both hot and cold. Randy preferred it served warm.

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Today I'm linked to Ashley's What's In Your Kitchen Wednesday, a place to share all sorts of yummy food for anytime of the day. Check it out!