Chicken,Mushrooms and Artichoke hearts with Cheese tortellini in a light lemon, butter sauce

This is a picture of the beginning, the beginning of a fantastic recipe from Pam, over at For the love of cooking. Her blog is one of my go to blogs when I am looking to try something new. Please go visit her, if you haven't,I guarantee you will find a thing or two to try. Anyway, on to this great dish. Like I said, this is the beginning , chicken swimming in oil,lemon zest, garlic and basil. How bad could that be?Marinade:


2 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
3-4 leaves of basil, chopped
zest of 1 lemon
salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil(for cooking )


Place chicken breasts between 2 pieces of plastic wrap, and pound them, with a mallet, until 1/4 inch thick. Place chicken in ziploc bag and add 1 tbsp olive oil,garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Mix so the chicken is evenly coated. Let marinate for 1 hour. I let mine go for at least 4 hours.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in large skillet, over med heat. Once hot, add chicken breast and cook for 4 minutes, then flip and cook another 3-4 minutes, or until juices run clear. You can also grill them, which I was lucky enough to have my hubby do for me. Let the chicken cool for 5 minutes before cutting into bite size pieces.


Don' t they look great? Right here at this point you could serve them as is, with a few side dishes and you have a great alternative to regular breaded chicken cutlets. I have served them as is and they are fantastic, but we must move forward.



The Rest:

8 oz button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
1 handful grape tomatoes
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbsp parmesan cheese
1 package cheeses tortellini, prepared per instructions
juice of 2 lemons
2 tbsp butter
5-6 basil leaves, chopped
salt and pepper



Cook tortellini according to package. While pasta is cooking, add mushrooms to skillet where you cooked chicken and add more oil, if needed.Saute 3-4 minutes or until lightly browned. Add artichoke hearts, tomatoes and garlic. Stir frequently for 1 minute. Add tortellini, chicken, lemon juice, butter, basil and salt and pepper to taste. Warm through and serve.






I love this recipe, it has so many of my favorite things in it and many of us probably have most of these things in our kitchen already. It is a light meal, great for when the weather is hot. Thanks, Pam, for a recipe that is a total keeper.