Spring is in the air! It got up to the high 50’s here today and the snow is melting almost completely around our yard and down our dirt road. The birds are out and my garden is finally becoming visible from underneath piles of snow. In keeping with this springtime weather I wanted to make something equally refreshing for dinner. I didn’t have a rotisserie chicken so I just poached some chicken tenders, 5 of them to be exact, in a large saucepan filled halfway with filtered water for about 10 minutes or so. I then drained the water and sliced the chicken into small chunks and added them to the cream-leek sauce for the last couple minutes.

Sauteeing the leeks ©EverydayCookingAdventures 2013

I took the recipe’s advice and tossed the pasta with the sauce right before sitting down to eat so it wouldn’t glob all together. The seasoning was perfect and the chicken was tender. I loved the leeks, they made me feel very springtimey. I also added a large handful of snow peas when I poured the cream into the saucepan. This made it even more lovely looking with the added greenery and added a nice crisp crunch to the dish.

Stirring the sauce ©EverydayCookingAdventures 2013

This was a winner and I will definitely make it again. I may add a little sprinkling of red pepper flakes next time to give it a little boost of pizzaz but otherwise it’s perfect. Here’s my creamy chicken and leek pasta:

All done! ©EverydayCookingAdventures 2013

Creamy Fettuccine With Chicken and Leeks

From: Real Simple Magazine

Serves: 2
Hands-On Time: 25m
Total Time: 25m

Ingredients

• 1/3 pound fettuccine or another long pasta
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 leek (white and light green parts only), thinly sliced
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 1/2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken

Directions
1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions; drain and return it to the pot.

2. Meanwhile, heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the leek, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the cream and 1 tablespoon of the lemon zest and simmer until slightly thickened, 8 to 12 minutes. Add the chicken and cook until warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes more.

3. Add the chicken mixture and the remaining tablespoon of lemon zest to the pasta and toss to coat.

Tip: Wait to toss this creamy sauce with the noodles until just before serving. If it sits, it will thicken and become sticky.