Burst Tomato Pasta.

Oklahoma has been unusually mild this winter.

I'm talking 60s-and-70s-in-February-kind-of-mild.

It has been glorious.

But it has really made me long for spring so I can plant a garden.  Which I'm sure will make me long for summer so I can harvest my garden.  And of course, that will make me long for dinner time so I can enjoy my harvest.

Nothing I'm planting has me more excited than cherry tomatoes. My dad always grew them for me, and as an adult, I love cooking with them.  As I gear up for what I hope will be a bountiful harvest in a few months, I've been working on recipes I can use as go-to dinner ideas that will use my favorite Oklahoma crop.

Enter: This recipe.

This pasta is so good.  It's so so good.  It's so so so....good.  It's so good, in fact, that my husband ate a bowl of it and made me look away as he drank the rest of the sauce in his bowl.  

It's pretty simple, too, and it really only requires things I keep in my house all the time anyway.  And my kids will eat it.  So that's a big win for us.

Here's what you'll need:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup cherry tomatoes

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup Parmesan cheese

2 tsp garlic salt, divided

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

1 lb of pasta (I used linguine this time)

First, you're going to saute your chicken in the olive oil.  Season with salt, pepper, and a tsp of garlic powder.

If you're wondering why my chicken is in bags, I had just pulled it out of the freezer.  I store my chicken breasts in those fold down sandwich bags when I freeze them.  It makes them much easier to use because it doesn't all freeze together into one big chicken popsicle.

Saute it until it's nice and browned.  Take it out, and chop it up.

As soon as you pull the chicken out, throw in the cherry tomatoes and cover the pan.  After you chop up the chicken, add that in with the tomatoes. Occasionally give the pan a shake.   You're ready to move on after the tomatoes all burst open.  

It.  Smells.  So.  Good.

From here, pour in the chicken stock and the rest of the garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning.  Bring the sauce to a boil, and add in just a small handful of cheese.  This will help thicken the sauce.  Boil it, stirring occasionally, until it's reduced by about half.  It will still be thin, but stick with me here.

Cook and drain your pasta, and pour the sauce over the top.  Add the rest of the cheese, and watch this delicious sauce coat your pasta.  

Stand back and wonder at what you've created.

Then get full.  Eat seconds.  Enjoy!

(We love this recipe as soon as it's finished cooking, but it's honestly better the next day.)