Lower Sodium Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce with Chicken and Penne Pasta

Lower Sodium Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce with Chicken and Penne Pasta
if following directions, the ENTIRE recipes contains less than 1000 mg of sodium, it serves 4-6 adults HUGE servings (about 2 cups each). Per serving, you are probably looking at about 500 mg. of sodium or less per serving….

1 box Active Lifestyle Multi-grain Penne Rigate pasta (less than 1% sodium)
1 lb. of sliced then diced chicken from butcher shop (not soaked in brine- this means only naturally occurring sodium! Substitutions will add some sodium content due to brine)

Puree for Sauce:
1 jar sun dried tomatoes soaked in oil (less than 1% sodium)
¼ large onion
3 cloves garlic (or more if you like garlic!)
1 cup chicken broth made from Wyler’s No Sodium broth mix. I add a little extra powder to make it stronger.
1/2 cup Chardonnay (or white wine of your choice)
1 pint heavy cream
1 cup freshly grated Kraft Parmesan cheese (about 800 mg. of sodium for 1 cup)
3 oz. fat-free cream cheese (150 mg.)

Puree ¼ onion, 3 cloves of garlic, and the oil soaked sun dried tomatoes in a food processor. Set aside.

In a large (13”) skillet cook 1 lb. of sliced chicken in remaining sun dried tomato oil , ½ cup Chardonnay and ½ cup of chicken broth in low heat. Allow the juices from the chicken to flow! Once chicken is cooked thoroughly, remove from “broth mixture” and place in a bowl/plate retaining any juices.

Start your pasta water and cook pasta while creating the sauce.

Add ½ pint heavy cream and the puree mixture of onion, garlic and sun dried tomatoes. Simmer for a few. Add 1 cup of Parmesan and melt the cheese. Simmer a bit more. As the cheese melts, add the other ½ cup of chicken broth. The sauce should be creamy. Add 4 oz. of fat-free cream cheese and melt. Then slowly add in the remaining heavy cream. Let simmer until it thickens again.

Take sliced chicken and dice into ¼” or smaller pieces. Add juices and diced chicken to the sauce. At this point, your pasta should be done cooking its 10-12 minutes. Drain. Stir in pasta sauce/chicken into the penne. Serve.

Optional: You may top with more fresh Parmesan, basil, or chives for a little more flavor. Also, if you want a little burn to your sauce, red pepper flakes are also delicious to add! If you don't want to add white wine, that is fine too. It will alter the flavor slightly.

Leftovers are microwaveable. Great for those nights when you "just don't feel like cooking."