Easy Lemon Chicken Pasta

Oh man. This recipe promised to be easy and delicious. It was at least one of those and could have been the other but for my rookie mistake.

For every non Hello Fresh recipe I make, I cut in half. I've gotten quite good at that and it means I throw away less food. Making a full batch of something I know I'll never eat all of it, just makes me sad. So I cut things in half. 

I'm pretty good at guesstimating how much of something, and I often just let me heart decide. Tonight neither my heart nor my brain checked in when I chucked in the juice of TWO lemons into a recipe I had cut in half. 

Good Lord was this lemony...and not in a good way.

I think had it not been overpowering with lemon it would have been fresh and delicious. Next time.

Easy Lemon Chicken Pasta

Recipe from Hungry Happens

Serves 4

• 1 lb medium sized pasta
• 3 chicken breasts
• salt, garlic powder + onion powder to taste
• 1/4 c olive oil (divided)
• 1 bunch asparagus, cut into thirds
• 1/2 tsp chili pepper flakes
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1/2 c grated Parmesan
• 1/4 c parsley, chopped

Cook your pasta in salted water, al dente according to package instructions.

Slice your chicken breasts into 3 thick strips. Season them all over with salt, onion powder and garlic powder. Heat a large pan on medium high and add the chicken strips. Cook on all sides until golden and cooked through to an internal temperature of 165°F. Set aside onto a cutting board, allow to rest 5 minutes and slice into bite size chunks.

To the same pan, add 2 tbs olive oil and cook your asparagus, garlic, chili pepper flakes and salt to taste, until crisp tender. Remove pan from the burner and add the cooked pasta, lemon juice and toss. Transfer to a serving bowl and add in the chicken pieces, parmesan, parsley and remaining olive oil – toss everything to coat. Serve with more grated parmesan, lemon wedges and olive oil.