Chicken Tomato Basil Pasta

I refused to post a recipe until I took pictures - so here it is finally!
This is one of my favorite summer recipes. It's so simple but absolutely delicious. I've been making this FOREVER so all of the measurements are approximate.
This is also a great recipe because there are no fancy pancy ingredients that you're going to have to go out and buy. If you can remember to get chicken, tomatoes and basil at the store you're set! This recipe can feed 6-8. We make this much everytime because pasta is always better on the second day after the noodles have soaked up the flavor!
*Disclaimer - START this meal 2-3 hours before you are going to eat dinner. You can leave it on the stove on low and forget about it while it cooks - but it makes it SOOO much better!

Ingredients
2 lbs chicken breasts
8-10 tomatoes off the vine (these are the smallest vine tomatoes)
1 1/2 Tbs minced garlic
4 Tbs olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

First dice your tomatoes. I got this fancy chop wizard for $18 at Target. I really only use it for this meal but I couldn't live without it. After they're diced and ready put them in a bowl off to the side. We just got some prep work out of the way.

No picture but slice your chicken to about inch cubes.

BEFORE you start to cook your chicken you're going to turn on your stove with the olive oil and garlic. Cook your garlic but don't let it turn brown. THEN throw in your chicken.

If your chicken starts to stick to the bottom of your pot you need more olive oil. Salt and pepper your chicken. Don't be afraid to be liberal - these are your ONLY seasonings so you're going to have to really use them to pull the taste out of this meal.

You're NOT cooking your chicken all the way through. It'll have plenty of time to cook and simmer after you add the tomatoes. I just make sure the outside is cooked.

Then add your tomatoes.

Stir them in and turn your burner down to LOW. If you've been smart you'll have done this a couple of hours before you actually are ready to eat. This will help the chicken cook slow and it'll be very tender and delicious.

Also slow cooking helps the tomatoes cook evenly. At this point you want to really start tasting you sauce. It will probably need a lot more salt and pepper. If it doesn't taste flavorful to you now it's not going to taste flavorful on the noodles - I've made that mistake more than once. So salt until you get a great taste!

This is about what it's going to look like when ready to add the basil. Some little chunks of tomato but pretty soupy. Chop up your basil and toss in when you start boiling your noodles. You don't want to add it any sooner or it will lose all of it's flavor.

Then drain your noodles and mix with the sauce. I always cook my noodles al dente because when you mix it in the warm sauce they keep cooking.

Not much to look at - but it's a FRESH relatively healthy meal. And you will just DIE when you eat this goodness the next day as leftovers. The noodles are so full of flavor you could eat them by themselves without tomatoes or chicken!

Enjoy!