Ranch Chicken Pasta

One word... yum! I had come across this recipe and knew I needed to make it. John is obsessed with bacon and I knew we would both like it. I am so glad I made this- it was awesome. It is a fattening recipe but I did do some things to lighten it up. First, I used center cut bacon which is lighter than traditional bacon. Second, I didn't cook the chicken in bacon grease, rather just cooked it in a skillet with cooking spray. Also I used 1% milk. Still not a light meal, but it is really tasty and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Ingredients:

6 slices bacon
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into bite size pieces (I used 2)
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons ranch dry salad dressing mix
1 1/4 cups milk
3 cups dried medium noodles
1 tablespoon finely shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Start your water for your pasta. Cook noodles according to package directions.
2. Cut bacon into narrow strips. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Drain bacon on paper towels; discard all but 2 tablespoons drippings. (I discarded all of it)
3. In the same skillet, cook chicken in reserved drippings until no longer pink (I just cooked it with cooking spray), turning to brown evenly. Sprinkle flour and salad dressing mix over chicken; stir well to coat the chicken. Stir in milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute more. Stir in bacon.
4. Serve the chicken over the noodles. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!