Chicken Lemon Ricotta Pasta

I am standing in my kitchen staring into the abyss of my pantry and telling myself I need to get to the grocery store.   The problem is that after spending the whole day chasing and cleaning after 7 rambunctious puppies, I am beat and I really don’t want to make a run to the supermarket.  I want to make something quick and easy so I can promptly plant my butt on the sofa and chillax for awhile.   That’s right I said chillax….what of it?

Sorry I am a little cranky, I am sleep deprived.

As I stood there in the kitchen, a bright yellow lemon caught my attention and I remembered that I had defrosted some chicken, Lemon Chicken Pasta it is!  I open the refrigerator to grab the chicken and I see a tub of ricotta…..Eureka!  Chicken Lemon Ricotta Pasta it is!  This qualified as quick, easy, tasty and my butt promptly planted itself on the sofa.

Serve yourself a big fat bowl, sprinkle bacon over pasta and promptly plant gluteus on sofa.

I hate to toot my own horn…….but what the heck…”toot, toot, yum”! This was delicious, tangy, touch of sweet and savory.  I little bit of everything in every bite.  I made enough for exactly two servings and Obed was a little disappointed that their were no leftovers, but it’s so simple I could easily whip it up again with little effort.

Print Recipes

Chicken Lemon Ricotta Pasta (2 servings)

• 5 oz. dry linguine
• 2 chicken thighs, skinned and bone-in
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• 3 strips thick cut bacon, diced
• 1/4 cup red onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 Tbs lemon juice
• 1 1/2 Tbs dijon mustard
• 1 Tbs clover honey
• 1/4 ricotta cheese
• 1 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 2 green onions, diced

Drizzle olive oil over chicken and season with salt and pepper. Grill on heavy grill skillet on pan until done, let cool and then remove meat from the bones and chop, set aside.

While chicken cooks bring a pot of salted water to boil.  Cook pasta until al dente.

Dice three strips of thick cut bacon and fry in heavy pan until crispy. Using a slotted spoon to transfer bacon to a paper towel line plate, set aside. Reserve 2 Tbs of bacon drippings. Saute red onion and garlic in bacon drippings until soft.

Add dice chicken and cook for about 2 minutes.

Whisk together, lemon juice, honey and dijon mustard.  Add lemon mixture to pan and cook until sauce just begins to thicken about 1 minute, add ricotta and stir.  Stir ricotta until smooth and creamy. There will be a bit of grainy texture, if you like you could also use cream cheese or mascarpone.

Add drained cooked pasta, green onion and lemon zest to pan, toss until evenly coated.

Serve and garnish with bacon.