Chicken and Pasta in a Pesto Cream Sauce

I kind of made this up as I went, so measurements aren't exact.

RECIPE

chicken
4 chicken breasts - I cut up my chicken so that it would cook faster because I'm impatient...
flour
S & P
Tony C's
1 teaspoon minced garlic

**you can bake the chicken with some olive oil or saute with no flour for a healthier option**

cream sauce
2-3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 milk (you can use all milk and no cream)
Parmesan/Romano/Asiago - I buy this already mixed and shredded (from Kraft)
pesto (Christopher's Ranch is really good - next to the minced garlic)

**all milk tastes just about the same and is healthier**

pasta
I used one package of spiral noodles, but bowties would be good as well.  I think the sauce is too thick for spaghetti.

Heat a pan (easiest if you use a non-stick wok) with oil and brown the minced garlic.  In a large Ziploc bag, add flour and seasonings then add the chicken and coat evenly.  Transfer to pan and cook completely.

Meanwhile put water on to boil for your pasta - the cream sauce takes about 10 minutes so once the chicken is done it goes pretty quickly.

On medium heat - if the pan is too hot the cream and milk will scorch - melt the butter and add your flour, mix until smooth (I put the chicken on a plate once it was cooked and made the sauce in the same pan).  Add your milk and cream and continue to mix until it thickens.  You may need to add some more flour or cream/milk depending on the consistency.  Add the cheese (about 1/3 cup) and continue to stir.  Once sauce is the right thickness, add your pesto - about 2 tablespoons.

Once my sauce was done, I added my pasta and chicken back into the pan and mixed it together.  One thing I didn't add that is good is cherry tomatoes sliced in half - if you use them, add them last so they don't juice everywhere.  You can also brush the tomatoes with olive oil and kosher salt and broil them, then add them to the dish.

*Substitute pesto for sun-dried tomatoes (Christopher's Ranch also has this)
*Leave the sauce plain and add broccoli, artichoke hearts or asparagus and have chicken alfredo
*Sauteed shrimp would be good instead of chicken