Toasted Pine Nut Pasta

One of my favorite foods is pasta. I absolutely love all types of noodles and sauces and I could probably eat it every day of the week, especially spaghetti. And the best part about cooking with pasta is that it's so fun to create new sauces by adding a little of this and a little of that.

To be honest, I usually lean more towards tomato-based sauces when preparing pasta dishes but this Toasted Pine Nut Pasta dish has the perfect blend of pine nuts and cheeses. The toasted pine nuts give it a great nutty flavor while the different cheeses help to create an aromatic and savory dish. The combination of the two really kicks the flavor up a notch and will have you going back for more...or looking forward to leftovers!

Toasted Pine Nut Pasta

Ingredients:

• 1 lb dried Fettuccine
• 2 chicken cutlets, cut into fingers
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2/3 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup Blue cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente; drain well.
2. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, chicken and garlic to the pan. Brown and cook chicken thoroughly. Remove to a plate and slice.
3. In a separate skillet, add two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and pine nuts and toss/saute until pine nuts are toasted. Remove from skillet.
4. In a bowl, combine the pasta, chicken, pine nuts, sun-dried tomatoes, parsley, Parmesan cheese and Blue cheese (optional). Toss to coat pasta.

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