Chicken pasta that I didn't know how to make

I had some frozen chicken breast strips in the freezer that I bought on a whim. When I arrived home from work the other day, I decided that I was going to use them in a pasta somehow. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do that, so I started making bread while I ran a few options through my head.

Well, when it came time to start cooking, I still didn’t know how I was going to cook this. I decided to just start, and make it up as I go. Here’s what I did. To my surprise, this came out quite tasty. The sweet of the Marsala was balanced by the bite of the red pepper flakes.

1-1/2 lb. frozen chicken breast strips

Olive oil

Adobo seasoning

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 cup finely chopped shallots

5 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. white pepper

1 cup sweet Marsala

1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes

1 lb. corkscrew pasta

3 sprigs of fresh chopped tarragon

2 sprigs of fresh chopped oregano

5 fresh sage leaves, chopped

Preparation

Heat a large braising pan that has a tight fitting lid. When it is hot, add enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Sear the chicken breast pieces (right from the freezer is ok) on one side. Turn them over and sprinkle them with some adobo seasoning. Add the onion, shallots, garlic, red pepper, the dry basil and the white pepper. Stir and cover the pan.

Let the chicken cook this way for about ten minutes, but turn the chicken over and stir every couple of minutes. When you are not stirring, keep the lid on. You want the chicken and vegetables to steam together so the flavors can blend. After about ten minutes, add the Marsala and stir. Return the lid and let that simmer for at least ten more minutes.

Add the crushed tomatoes and the chopped fresh herbs. Stir and let that simmer, covered, while you put the pasta water on to boil. Stir the chicken often while you cook and drain the pasta.

Serving

Take a big pile of pasta and ladle on the chicken and tomato sauce. Sprinkle on some grated parmesan. Slice the homemade bread and set it out with lots of butter. Make a nice Greek style salad and open a bottle of spicy California Zinfandel. Dinner is served. I may not know how to make this, but it turned out good anyways.