This dish is an easy weeknight cold evening dinner. It’s creamy, yet light and super flavorful with cheesy chicken throughout the pasta.

The color of the red peppers make this dish so inviting, warming, comforting yet super quick for a kitchen-to-table meal for a busy weeknight. Leftovers? They reheat nicely, even heated in a nonstick pan with a bit of extra-virgin olive oil if you wish.

Seems like a fancy restaurant meal, yet very affordable, this creamy asiago chicken pasta can become a staple in your house. Best part, this meal is fantastic all year long.

Take out the chicken and serve this pasta alongside a grilled summer steak or with a fall-themed salad in the October.

Creamy Asiago Chicken Pasta

1 pound of your favorite pasta, cooked to al dente

4 chicken cutlets

½ cup of Asiago cheese, grated

1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese, grated

½ cup of cooked spinach, drained and chopped

4 sun-dried tomatoes in oil; chopped

1 roasted bell pepper, thinly sliced or chopped to your liking

6 ounces of sliced mushrooms

1 shallot, finely diced

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 cup of dry white wine

1 ½ cups of heavy cream

2 tablespoons of unsalted butter; room temperature is best

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Grilled chicken seasoning

Salt and Pepper, to taste

More Asiago cheese, garnish

Sprigs of flat-leaf parsley, optional garnish

Set the chicken cutlets out to come to room temperature. Season the chicken with the grilled chicken seasoning of your choice. Set aside.

In a large high-sided skillet, add your olive oil and heat over medium high heat. Gently place the chicken into the pan and sear on both sides until cooked through, approximately 2-3 minutes per side. Keep the oil in the pan and add in your mushrooms in. Cook the mushrooms until lightly caramelized. Next, your shallots and garlic go into the pan. Heat through for about 2-3 minutes, until fragrant.

Remove the skillet from the heat and pour in your white wine. Place the pan back on the heat and turn the heat to medium high and reduce by half.

Now, add in the heavy cream, the roasted peppers and the sun-dried tomatoes. Cook over medium high heat until slightly thickened. Turn the heat off and add in the grated asiago and Parmesan cheese. Dice your cooked chicken and add in along with the chopped cooked spinach.

Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cover. Set aside while you cook your pasta.

Drain the “al dente” pasta, reserving ¼-1/2 of a cup of the pasta cooking water. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce, adding the pasta cooking water. Lastly, the unsalted butter goes in to finish the dish.

Garnish with extra freshly-grated Asiago cheese and sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley.

Sarah Schweitzer is dual-certified in Culinary Arts and Baking & Pastry from the Escoffier School of Culinary Arts (www.escoffier.edu). She is a former line cook for Chef Robert Irvine at “Fresh Kitchen by Robert Irvine” which was located at the Downtown Allentown Market. Sarah is currently working as a Sous-Chef and pastry chef at Ateira’s on First and has her own blog simplysarah.online. She can be reached at sarah.schweitzer18@gmail.com.