Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta

Here's a new recipe we tried out tonight, creamy lemon chicken pasta! It's *very* easy to prepare and was delish. Recipe's at the end (adapted from here).

The 3 chicken tenderloins are cooked at 350 for 40 minutes then cut into bite size pieces for tossing into the pasta.

 The pasta cooks in seasoned chicken broth with lemon juice which gives it a LOT of flavor.

 Toss in the chicken and add the heavy cream.

All done!

Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta

3 skinless, boneless chicken tenderloins (I use the Tyson 'thinner sliced' tenderloins)

2 tsp garlic powder, divided

1 tsp ground black pepper, divided

2 (14.5 oz) cans chicken broth

1/2 cup lemon juice, divided

1 (8 oz) package penne pasta

1 cup heavy cream

Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken in a lightly greased baking dish. Use 1/4 lemon juice to season chicken on both sides. Also season both sides of chicken using 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder and 3/4 tsp pepper. (I also sprinkled mine with a little salt). Bake for 40 minutes or until juices run clear and chicken is no longer pink inside.

2. In a large saucepan, season the chicken broth with remaining 1/2 tsp of garlic powder and 1/4 tsp pepper. Bring to a boil and add 1/4 lemon juice and pasta. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is absorbed and pasta is cooked, approx 12-13 minutes. Drain excess broth from pasta. (It is OK to leave a little bit of broth, doesn't have to be completely dry.)

3. Cut cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces and stir into cooked pasta along with heavy cream. Cook, stirring, over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 2-3 minutes. Stir before serving. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese to your taste.