Homemade: Cheesy Pesto Cream with Chicken and Mushroom

I tried my first attempt to cook my all-time favorite pasta - PESTO! Instead of doing a plain pesto pasta, I went one level up and did a pesto cream sauce and added chicken and mushroom. I called it "Cheesy Pesto Cream with Chicken and Mushroom".

I got the Pesto Cream Sauce recipe from allrecipes.com but I twist it up a bit with what's available in my kitchen.  


Here's what you need:

• 1 500g penne pasta (you can also use linguine or fettuccine)
• 2 tablespoon extra virgin oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 8 cloves of garlic, grated (this is a trick I got from Rachel Ray)
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups of milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 block of cheddar cheese
• 1 cup of prepared basil pesto
• 1 cup of chicken, cooked and sliced
• 1 cup of mushroom, sliced
• 3 small tomatoes, diced 

What you need to do?

Pasta

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  
2. Add pasta and cook according to direction (back of the pasta package).  San Remo Penne Pasta cooks for 14 minutes or until al dente. 
3. Drain the pasta when it's cooked and set aside.

Cheesy Pesto Cream Sauce

1. Heat extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. 
2. Saute onion until tender and translucent. 
3. Stir in garlic and butter. Saute until garlic is soft and fragrant for about 1 minute.
4. Dissolve flour in milk, then stir in.
5. Season with salt and pepper. 
6. Simmer for 4 minutes while stirring constantly.  
7. Add the cheese and stir until melted.
8. Stir in the pesto.
9. Add chicken, mushroom and tomatoes. 
10. Cook for another 4 minutes or until heated through.

Once everybody's settled in the dining area, drop the pasta in the cheesy pesto cream sauce until evenly coated. Serve it with a smile :-) 


I was glad my family loved it when I served this during dinner.  Hope you find this helpful.  Try this out for yourself or serve it to your loved ones.  Let me know how it goes.  Happy Eating!