what's cooking wednesdays: the recipe makeover edition

photo courtesy of ree!

y'all know i am a MAY-JUH {major a la victoria beckham} pioneer woman fan.  i got to meet her in person this spring and have her sign my cookbook.  she. is. DARLING.  last week she posted a recipe for lemon basil pasta with grilled chicken and i knew i had to make it.  i am a lemon FREAK.  love, love, love it.  thursday night i happened to have a leftover grilled chicken breast in the fridge anyways, so that seemed as good a time as any. 

that said, i was not about to put that much cream and cheese into a recipe.  so i did a wee bit of tweaking and it turned out insanely delicious with a lot less fat.  here's my version of ree's own brand of genius:

grilled chicken with lemon basil pasta

serves 2
1 whole grilled chicken breast, sliced
1/4 - 1/2 pound penne pasta, cooked until al dente {i like mine a little overcooked if truth be told}
2 tbsp. butter
1 1/2 - 2 tbsp. flour
1 whole lemon, zested and juiced
1/2 cup 1%  or 2% milk
1 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese {i hadn't been to the grocery store, so i used the fake stuff in the kraft bottle.  it turned out tasty.}
salt and pepper, to taste
big handful of basil leaves, chopped {the beau helped here and chose to tear the basil leaves.  whatever floats your boat.}

cook pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water before draining.  set pasta aside.

in the same pot, melt butter over medium heat.  whisk in the flour until there are no lumps and allow mixture to cook for a few minutes.  slowly whisk in the milk.  continue to whisk until sauce thickens.  dump in cheese and whisk until combined.  add in the lemon zest, juice, salt, and pepper.  check consistency, adding some of the hot pasta water to loosen the sauce or more cheese to thicken the sauce if necessary.  check for seasonings.

pour pasta and sauce into a large bowl.  sprinkle basil all over the top and then add the sliced chicken breast.  voila!

i served this with some fresh sliced tomatoes and cucumbers tossed with olive oil, white wine vinegar, and salt and pepper.  i think you could also add another healthy dimension to this recipe {and stretch it to feed more people} by adding in some steamed broccoli.  it would also be delicious with some toasted pine nuts sprinkled on top.  the beau raved about this dish, so since it's a keeper, i'm going to keep playing around with it until i get it just right.

bon appetit!