Tomato Chicken Pasta

We have been blessed by some very talented gardeners recently who have kindly shared their produce with us. When Jeremy brought home some ripe, juicy, orange tomatoes the other night, I could not bear to waste them, so I looked up a recipe specifically to use a bunch of tomato. Pretty good stuff! I even have a picture to share because I thought it was pretty.


Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) package radiatore pasta
1/2 pound bacon
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into bite-sized pieces
3/4 cup white wine
2 large tomatoes, cut into bite size pieces
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning


Directions
1.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2.Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Set bacon aside to drain on paper towels. Drain all but 1 tablespoon bacon grease, then saute chicken until no longer pink, and juices run clear. Break bacon into pieces, and return to skillet. Stir in wine and tomatoes. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Simmer until tomatoes are cooked, about 20 minutes. Serve sauce over cooked pasta.

I used about half a box of whole grain shells (from a 13 oz box) and it was plenty. I also followed recommendations and added a tsp of minced garlic to the chicken and a tsp of crushed red pepper. I probably would not use the red pepper again, or at least use less of it because it was a little hotter than I like. I also used turkey bacon and sweet Moscato wine. I stirred the pasta into the sauce to soak up the juices. Served with a simple salad and topped with parm cheese!