Making budget-friendly pasta

PASTA! :D

If you look carefully enough, some of you may recognize that this looks a lot like the Pesto Cavatappi from Noodles and Company. My nearest Noodles and Co. is a bit out of the way, so I did some experimenting and found an easy way to copy their pesto cavatappi without mushrooms (I DESPISE MUSHROOMS!) So, if you are a beginner in the kitchen or are wanting a good meal for around $10, come on in, I'll show you the ingredients and take you on a crash course on how it's made. 

Note: I'm not really a huge fan on measuring, so if you're really particular on measurements...let loose because cooking is not an exact science and you can get different flavors from food buy not being so exact :)



Ingredients:
Tubed pasta-I used cavatappi because I had access to it, but you could use penne or macaroni if you're feeling whimsical :)
Olive oil (enough to cover the bottom of a medium-size saucepan)
Grilled chicken-this may be pre-prepared or you can make it from scratch using chicken tenderloins. Whatever you pick
1 Roma tomato
Basil Pesto-the amount you put into it is based on the amount of seasoning you like. I like using a tablespoon or two personally
Shredded cheese-As long as its not yellow or cheddar, you pick whatever cheese you like.

How to make it:
Prep:
1)Cut your chicken into slices. Set aside for later.
2)Cut tomatoes in any way you like. Usually, I cut them without any uniformity whatsoever because we're going to sautee them away so it doesn't need to be cut in any fancy manner.

Cook:
1) Cook pasta as instructions says. Drain and set aside
2)In a clean, medium size sauce pan, pour enough oil to cover to line the bottom of the pan. Warm this up and you will know it's warm when you hover your hand over the pot and you can feel the heat.

Medium saucepan

3) Put in your tomatoes and chicken. Let it cook until the chicken browns. This gives your pasta texture.
4) Put the pasta into the pan. Let it cook until the chicken is browned. If you're afraid of the pasta burning, put a little bit of olive oil to prevent sticking.
5) Put in as much pesto sauce as you want. Be careful and make sure you taste it along the way because if you put too little, the pasta may be too dry. If you put too much, it's going to be too salty.
6) Serve immediately and top with a little bit of cheese. Wait a little bit for the cheese to melt and enjoy :-)