One Pan Mediterranean Chicken Pasta

I'm just back from a great week visiting my parents with my girls. While there I made dinner one night, and it was a recipe my mom wanted to try and had ingredients for. I offered to make it since she was trying to whip up some homemade ice cream and chocolate sauce for me. Seemed like a fair trade off, right? Normally I am skeptical of one-dish pasta meals. The pasta never seems to be done right and things just end up kind of gross. This wasn't the case here--the Parmesan you stir into the dish at the end brought everything together into a lovely, delicious meal. I made a little salad of asparagus, tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella from ingredients lying around the kitchen and I think it's something worth making intentionally again, so I'll also share that one.

One-Pan Mediterranean Chicken Pasta

-adapted from iowagirleats.com

-1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
-1 lb chicken breast, cut into small chunks
-salt and pepper
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-2 cups chicken broth
-3/4 cup water
-15oz can artichoke hearts, chopped
-pinch red chili pepper flakes
-1/2 lb mini-penne or other small pasta
-2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
-2 Tablespoons drained capers
-1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
-1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I think the trick here to make the sauce especially nice is to buy the hunk and grate it yourself)
-1/2 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves, chopped

 Heat oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper then add to skillet and saute until golden brown, 2-3 minutes. Don’t cook chicken all the way through. Add garlic then saute for 30 more seconds. Add chicken broth, water, artichoke hearts, red chili pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to the skillet then bring mixture to a boil and add pasta. Shake pan to make sure all the pasta is covered with liquid then place a lid on top, turn heat down to medium, and then simmer for 2 minutes less than package directions (you want the pasta to be under al dente as it will cook for a few more minutes in the sauce.) Remove lid then add lemon juice, capers, and tomatoes, and then turn the heat up to high and reduce sauce for 2-3 minutes. Remove pan from heat then stir in Parmesan cheese and basil. Let sit for 2-3 minutes to thicken then serve.