Shannon's Chicken Carbonara



This recipe was made on a whim with ingredients I happened to have in the fridge. Fettucine would be the best type of pasta to serve with this, but since I didn't have it, I used bowtie pasta and the dish came out well. Because this is a heavy dish, a small salad goes well along the side. Between Jeff and I, we had one serving dish as leftovers, but this could do well to serve four.

Ingredients

4 pieces of bacon
1 pound of chicken breast, diced
8 ounces button mushroooms, sliced thin
1/2 cup chopped sundried tomatoes, packed in oil
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup romano cheese
1/4 cup of chopped fresh italian parsley
1/2 pound of fettucine or bowtie pasta, cooked

In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, cook the bacon slices. Remove bacon from the pan and let sit until cooled, reserving at least one or two tablespoons of bacon fat. Add the garlic to the bacon drippings and saute until brown, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken and saute until golden brown and cooked through, about ten minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until soft, about five minutes. Add the cream, chicken broth and sundried tomatoes, and reduce the heat to a simmer. Let simmer for about five minutes, or until heated through. Crumble the bacon into pieces and add to mixture, together with 1/2 cup of parmesan and 1/4 cup of romano cheeses, and stir until well mixed and heated through, about two more minutes. If mixture becomes too thick, add more chicken broth and/or cream to the dish and simmer until heated through. Spoon mixture over fettucine or bowtie pasta in individual pasta bowls, sprinkle with parsley, and serve with extra parmesan cheese on the side.