Bow Tie Pasta with Chicken, Bacon, and Mushrooms in an Asiago Cream Sauce

This recipe is a regular in my household. It happens to be one of my husbands favorite dishes. When I asked my husband what he wanted to have to eat on Father's Day, this was his request. It is more time consuming than a lot of my other regular recipes but worth the time if you want something a little more special for dinner. And, it sure beats the price you would pay to have a similar meal at a restaurant. Plus did you know that at a certain Italian restaurant chain their chicken alfredo pasta has 990 calories and 50 grams of fat for one serving? Yikes. I guarantee this recipe does not have that many calories or fat!



Bow Tie Pasta with Asiago Cream Sauce
Serves 4-5

1 T. olive oil
2 chicken breasts
5-6 mushrooms
6 slices of bacon
1 t. Italian seasoning
1/2 box of bow tie/farfalle pasta

Asiago Cream Sauce Ingredients
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T butter
2 t. flour
12 oz can evaporated milk
1 c. shredded asiago cheese
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper

Boil water for the pasta and cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Then cook bacon according to package directions. Break the bacon into smaller pieces after it has been cooked.

Slice chicken breast into thin strips. I have found that the best time to do this is to slice the chicken when it hasn't quite defrosted all the way. It makes it super easy to slice it into nice even strips when it is still a little frozen. Then slice mushrooms into bit size pieces. Heat olive oil in a skillet and add mushrooms and chicken and Italian seasoning. Saute until chicken is cooked thoroughly and starts to brown, stirring frequently. After chicken is cooked through, add the bacon pieces and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Remove from heat.

While chicken is cooking, prepare the Asiago cheese sauce. Heat saucepan to medium heat. Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add minced garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. DO NOT SUBSTITUTE GARLIC POWDER. In my opinion garlic powder should never be substituted for garlic. Garlic powder has a very artificial taste and your sauce will not taste as good. I guarantee that good Italian restaurants don't substitute garlic powder for garlic, so neither should you. It will cost you a matter of cents for the real deal stuff-and it's definitely worth it for the difference you get in the taste quality. After garlic has sauteed for a few minutes, whisk in the flour to make a roux. Whisk constantly and then gradually add the evaporated milk while continuing to stir so you do not have any clumps. Let cook for about 2 minutes over medium heat stirring consistently and then stir in asiago cheese until melted. Combine pasta, chicken mixture and sauce all together. Serve with cheese sprinkled over the top. And there you have it. Enjoy!