Lemon Thyme Pasta With Chicken and Mushrooms

I’m alive!  We’ve moved!  And I finally got my kitchen sorted out enough to COOK SOMETHING.  As we’ve been subsisting on a diet of take out and shortcut meals, I wanted to make something different and interesting.  I was shooting for a marriage between the Pioneer Woman’s Baked Lemon Pasta and Nigella Lawson’s Linguine with Lemon, Garlic, Thyme and Mushrooms (which I saw on the Cooking Channel during my workout earlier this week).  But with chicken, as my hubby does not do meatless.  Though the process is a bit more complicated than I usually go for, the end result was lovely.  Hubs immediately went back for seconds.  This makes 4 servings, coming in at 526 and 27g of fat (more if you add more than 2 ounces of cheese to the whole thing).

Ingredients:

• 8 oz Spaghetti (gluten free if that’s what you need)
• 2 Tbs Unsalted Butter
• 1/2 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 tbs olive oil
• 1 clove Garlic, Minced
• 1 whole Lemon, Juiced And Zested
• 1 cup Light Sour Cream
• 1 tsp Kosher Salt, Or More To Taste
• 8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 2 boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp parsley
• grated parmesan

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Cook your pasta according to package directions.

3. In a medium skillet, heat the first half tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.

4. Add 1/2 tsp of thyme and 1/2 the garlic.

5. Season the chicken with kosher salt and pepper.

6. When oil is heated, add the chicken and saute until no longer pink.

7. Add the mushrooms and saute another couple of minutes, until mushrooms are reduced.

8. Remove from heat and set aside.

9. Take a large skillet and heat the remaining olive oil and butter over low heat.

10. When butter is melted, add the remaining 1/2 tsp of thyme and the remaining garlic.

11. Add the cooled mushrooms and chicken (along with any remaining pan juices).

12. Squeeze one lemon half over the pan.

13. Turn off the heat.

14. Add the sour cream and stir until well incorporated.

15. Add the lemon zest and the salt.

16. Add the cooked pasta and stir until well coated.

17. Pour into a baking dish and cover.

18. Bake for 15 minutes.

19. Remove cover and bake for another 7-10 minutes.

20. Squeeze the remaining lemon half over the pasta.

21. Top generously with parmesan, and sprinkle the parsley and serve.

Printable version.