Tomato Basil Chicken Pasta

I have been guilty of pulling the canned/bottled spaghetti/pasta sauce out of my pantry on cheap/easy nights.  Now I don't just dump it- I add veggies, spices, etc to jazz it up.  But still, the can of sauce gets in there sometimes.  Well no more! After last night's dinner this is my new go to for cheap, easy tomato sauce pasta.  No long simmering, heavy sauce.  This is delightful! Even my husband, who doesn't usually tolerate little bits of cooked tomato on his plate, ate the WHOLE thing and then started attacking mine before I was done.  Even if you remove the chicken, it's delicious.  Wilt in some greens if you want to amp up the nutrition.  So flavourful.  And featuring my ever steady partner in the food world- garlic.  Maybe don't make this the night before an important meeting or something...

Source: http://menumusings.blogspot.ca/2013/04/tomato-basil-chicken.html

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts
kosher salt and pepper
Italian seasonings (I just use the premixed kind, you can make your own)
red chili flakes
2 tbsp EVOO, or your preferred cooking oil
at least 3 big juicy tomatoes (the original recipe calls for 2 but I like more tomatoes and next time I might even use another one), chopped
3 cloves garlic
4 tbsp cold butter
1/2 c fresh basil, chopped (I didn't have enough, maybe 1/4-1/3 cup, still delicious)
freshly grated parmesan, for garnish

Directions:

Get your pasta water salted and boiling.

If your chicken breasts are quite thick, cut them in half horizontally or pound them out.  Season with salt, pepper, chili flakes and Italian seasonings.  Heat your oil over medium, medium/high heat and cook your chicken (You only need to flip once- none of this jabbing of the chicken please.  It goes down on one side in hot oil and then about 4 minutes later it is flipped.).  I sprinkled a tiny bit of extra chili flake into the oil- I like my tomato sauce to have a bit of a kick.  Add your chopped tomatoes after you've flipped your chicken.  Let simmer- the length will depend on how cooked down you like your tomatoes.  Take out your chicken when it's cooked and let it rest on a cutting board. 

Drop your pasta down (I like spaghettini- I like the thinner noodles).  If you're using a longer cook pasta you can do this sooner.

Add the cold butter to the tomatoes- this is going to make your sauce silky.  Add minced garlic.  Add basil.  Taste and adjust for seasonings.  Slice rested chicken. 

When pasta is done, divide evenly into bowls and top with sauce and chicken.  Top with parmesan. 
Devour!