Chicken and pasta with sun-dried tomato pesto

I found this recipe on Cooking Light and was amazed at not only how good it was, but also how much my children raved about it.  We served it again tonight (for the umpteenth time!) and both kids went back for seconds.  Serve it with a garlic or tomato-basil bread from your local bakery, and you have a wonderfully filling meal.  This recipe has been adapted to add chicken and to alter the ingredient order a bit, but you can opt out on the chicken if you want it as a side (and serve with a smaller pasta for a side dish) or potluck item.  Use whole wheat pasta if you prefer.  I also suggest making bigger batches of the pesto and freezing for really quick dinners!


YIELD: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup)             

Ingredients

• 1 (9-ounce) package refrigerated fresh linguine
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, seasoned with olive oil and Italian seasoning (or Italian turkey sausage even!), cubed and cooked
• 3/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomato halves, drained
• 1/4 cup loosely packed basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts
• 2 tablespoons preshredded fresh Asiago cheese
• 1 tablespoon bottled minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup pasta water
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

Preparation

Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain through a sieve over a bowl, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Return pasta to pan.
While pasta cooks, place tomatoes and next 6 ingredients (through black pepper) in a food processor; process until finely chopped.
Combine tomato mixture and the reserved 1 cup cooking liquid, stirring with a whisk. Add to pasta; toss well to coat.   Stir in chicken breast.  Spoon onto plates and sprinkle with feta.