Garlic Basil Chicken with Tomato Butter Sauce

Welcome, welcome, friends!

And may I introduce you to what may be my new favorite way to eat chicken? It’s that beauty right up there, the one coated in the buttery garden-fresh tomato sauce featuring a few leaves of summertime basil and the aroma of freshly minced garlic. Yes, THAT is how I eat chicken.

To be honest, I always feel a little hypocritical posting chicken recipes, because you already know how I really feel – a lot of the time I’m only so-so on this very regular white meat which is supposedly everyone’s favorite thing ever. But I guess that means that when I actually do post chicken recipes, you kindred chicken-meh spirits out there can join with me in knowing that there are at least a few good ways to make chicken that do indeed exist in the universe. Where my kindred chicken-meh spirits at?

On the flip side of kindred spirits, this summer I *think* I might have officially joined the ranks of People Who Garden by no kindred association whatsoever – more by sheer determination and a lot of luck.

And my entrance into the club really depends on if you can count plants that were purchased from a grocery store and/or plants that have shriveled and completely died since being in your care. It also depends on if your definition of Garden has a quantity cut off, because we’re working with about (count em) 1-2-3-4-5 single plants this summer.

But if you’ll have me, Gardeners, I’ll happily join you, because look at what came OUT OF THE GROUND FROM A SEED in my very own little backyard box.

Okay, the tomatoes in those last pictures are actually not from my garden, but they ARE from my neighbor’s garden and they ARE the ones I used for this recipe. My own Roma babies are still, well, honestly, I just can’t bring myself to pick them yet. Newbie problems.

If you are the neighborhood gardener who leaves drop-offs of perfectly garden-ripe produce on your neighbors doorsteps, I want to talk to you about moving into my hood. We live in a great neighborhood with lots of charming, adorab– fine, I’ll stop. You don’t have to move here.

But this is truly how I received my tomatoes last week – the neighborly doorstep drop-off – and those tomatoes made me this dinner that made me like chicken for one night. That is some big time neighborly love right there.

That is also some big time butter-ly love.

Tomatoes. Olive oil. Garlic, basil, and butter.

On your marks, get set, go.

Hallelujah and glory be, this tomato-butter-garlic-basil-chicken combination was so utterly simple and perfect.

The Land O Lakes European Style Super Premium Butter, as we talked about before, is just plain everything. The ingredient combination here is so simple that you must must must make sure every ingredient is high quality to the point of CAN’T NOT HAVE IT. The tomatoes, the basil, the garlic – they must shine, and using a really high quality butter (made from sweet cream and churned for a higher percentage of fat) is the way to do it.

And if you’re into butter and you’re into Instagram, I have the perfect thing for you: the Land O Lakes Instagram account which showcases all the amazing ways to use the golden child of all the butters.

I am really just getting impatient for you to experience this end of summer perfection, so please experience it a-sap. I don’t mean to limit this recipe to end-of-summer months only, but. But but but. It’s going to be the best when you use the extra-ripe tomatoes that your neighbor dropped off on your doorstep or the explosion of end-of-summer farmers market basil and don’t panic but IT’S ALREADY THE END OF SUMMER.

Thankfully tomatoes are good for a few more months yet, and your basil plants are probably all reaching the end of the line so you’re looking for ways to use up all that fresh basil (please tell me it’s not just me), and this is how you’re going to find yourself, in September, loving September, but savoring the heck out of these last few bites of summer.

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
• salt and pepper
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 5-6 roma tomatoes, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup fresh basil, cut into ribbons
• ¼ cup (url:1 LAND O LAKES® European Style Super Premium Salted Butter(/url)
• 8 ounces pasta, like spaghetti, linguine, or bucatini

1. Cover the chicken with plastic wrap and pound each piece to an even thickness, about one inch or so in the thickest parts (this just helps it cook faster and more evenly). Remove the plastic and sprinkle each piece of chicken generously with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
2. Prep the tomatoes, garlic, and basil and set aside. Make the pasta according to package directions.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy skillet until a drop of water sizzles across the top. Add the chicken and pan-fry for several minutes on each side - the goal here is to get the chicken cooked AND get a nice browning on the outside. When the chicken is done, set aside.
4. Give the oil a few minutes to cool, add the tomatoes, and return to heat (if you add the tomatoes to the hot oil it will be a splatter-fest). Simmer to cook the tomatoes down into a chunky-sauce-like-mixture. Add the garlic and butter and stir to combine until the butter is melted. Add the chicken back in to soak in the sauce for a few minutes.
5. Just before serving, stir in the basil. Top servings of pasta with the chicken and the sauce.

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