Recipe review: Jo Cooks’ Rigatoni in Blush Sauce with Chicken and Bacon

While I’ve gotten into the habit of prepping my lunches ahead of time, I’ve run into a problem: If the meal doesn’t taste good enough, I abandon it halfway through the week. That usually leads to me going out and buying lunch once or twice a week, completely negating the work I did on the weekend.

So lately I’ve been searching for a variety of recipes I can make ahead for a week’s worth of lunches. That’s how I came across this Rigatoni in Blush Sauce with Chicken and Bacon recipe from Jo Cooks. My first impression was that it looked incredible, and yet not complicated. Which is exactly what my meal prepping needed.

Let me tell you right now: This recipe lived up to my first impression. It’s an easy, straight-forward recipe, and yet I found a way to make it easier. See, I had some pre-cooked chicken I needed to use up, so I threw that in instead of using fresh chicken. I don’t think that affected things too much, other than taking down the cooking time. I also used dried basil instead of fresh, and, because I’m a wimp, halved the hot sauce. That last one definitely affected the flavour, so you’ll want to adjust it to suit your taste.

Speaking of taste–you guys, this pasta is amazing. Seriously. I loved the tang of the tomatoes and hot sauce against the sour cream and mozza. And the bacon… every few bites you get a chunk, and it’s like this smoky little surprise. It’s hard to beat it.

As a bonus, I got more than a week’s worth of lunches out of the recipe. I think I ended up with six or seven servings, which meant I could freeze a couple for last-minute meals later on.