Chicken in Lemon Cream with Penne

This is my first blog! Yayyyy!!! I've been stealing so many recipes and eating so much yummy food from here and finally I felt I had to share something with you. I didn't think this dish would turn out as great as it did so I didn't take pictures while cooking. I took the pictures after I had a couple bites. This was when I realized how tasty and easy this was to make and how I sharing was a must. If you like lemony cream taste this is for you! I was a bit skeptical since the recipe doesn't take flour the sauce is very thin but it's so flavorful and yummy that you don't need thick sauce. I found this recipe in Giada De Laurentiis' Everyday Pasta Cookbook. Here's the recipe with the changes I made:

1 pound penne

3 tablespoons EVOO

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, diced into 1 inch cubes (I used 3 thinly sliced breasts which I cut up into the 1 inch pieces)

1 teaspoon herbes de Provence (I didn't have this so I used Adobo Seasoning)

Pinch of salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper, plus 1/2 teaspoon

1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth

2 cups heavy cream

Zest of 1 lemon (I just used the grater to zest the entire lemon)

1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley (I didn't have any)

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (I squeezed an entire lemon)

1. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium high heat. Season the cubed chicken breast with the adobo, salt, and pepper. Cook the chicken until golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken and set aside. Pour of any excess oil from the pan. Add the chicken broth to the pan and cook over medium high heat, using a wooden spoon to scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occassionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain.

3. Add the cream and lemon zest to the broth. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Add the pasta, chicken, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, chopped parsley, and lemon juice. Toss to coat the pasta and chicken with the sauce and serve.