Cajun Chicken Pasta

I found this recipe over on Pioneer Woman's website earlier in the week. I was planning out our weekly menu and immediately knew I wanted to give it a try.

I'm honestly not sure whether to call this a success or failure. Besides myself, our oldest daughter seemed to be the other family member that enjoyed her meal. My husband said "It's not bad, but I wouldn't go back for seconds." Ouch! That hurt! The two little ones loved snatching the veggies off the counter while I was cutting them up, but once I combined everything they didn't seemed thrilled.

 I was sure this would be a winner; one dish that combines pasta, chicken and veggies all together and with a little spice. I did cut back on the Cajun seasoning so it wouldn't be too spicy for the little ones and I also omitted the white wine and used a little more chicken broth instead. Unfortunately it's not something that I'll probably be making again for my family, but I'm being real here, showing you that there's going to be times when things don't turn out as planned or as well as you'd like. It's okay, I love to cook and bake and it's not going to stop me, it shouldn't stop you either!

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Ingredients:

2 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes

2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning

1 lb. Fettuccine

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 large green pepper, seeded and sliced

1 large red pepper, seeded and sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Roma tomatoes, diced

2 cups low sodium chicken broth

3/4 cup heavy cream

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

Sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning over chicken pieces, toss around to coat.  Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large heavy skillet over high heat.  Add chicken in a single layer, do not stir. Allow chicken to brown on one side, about 1-2 minutes. Flip to the other side and allow to finish cooking through. Remove with slotted spoon and place on a plate.

Add remaining olive oil and butter. When heated add peppers and garlic. Sprinkle on remaining Cajun seasoning, add salt if needed. Cook over very high heat for 1-2 minutes, gently stirring and trying to get veggies as dark as possible. Add tomatoes and let cook for 1 minute, remove and add to plate.

With pan over high heat, pour in chicken broth. Cook on high for 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of pan to deglaze. Reduce heat to medium-high and pour in cream, stirring/whisking constantly. Cook sauce over medium-high heat until sauce starts to thicken.  Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

Lastly, add in chicken and veggies to the sauce, making sure to include all the juices on the plate. Stir and cook for a few minutes until mixture is bubbly and hot. Add drained fettuccine and toss to combine.

Source: slightly adapted from Pioneer Woman

Well this will be my last post of 2011, I'm so excited to see what the new year will bring. I'll be sharing with you my goals for 2012 next week, some of them will be food related and some not so much. I'll also be giving the blog a little face lift, can't wait for you to see the new look! You'll soon be able to find me on Facebook as well....stay tuned!

Before I go, I have a little frugal tip for ya!

 Don't throw out those green onion roots! Simply place them in a little water and watch the tops grow again You should be able to get them to re-grow at least a couple times. Pretty neat huh?