Cajun Chicken Pasta

I've been meaning to try this pasta dish ever since Ree posted it on Pioneer Woman. This lady can cook up a storm and she has a new cookbook out to prove it. I have to admit I really love visiting her blog site and enjoy her quirky sense of humor. She's one of my "go to" sources when I'm feeling the need for a good laugh and some inspiration.

This pasta is kind of like a good bowl of jambalaya only with pasta instead of rice. Full of Cajun heat, chicken (I used tenders because they were on sale), red and green peppers, as well as onion and tomatoes I couldn't help but think how awesome it would be with the addition of some smoked andouille and you could certainly use shrimp instead of chicken too. As it reads, the recipe's a real keeper though. The only things I did differently - increased the garlic and add more spices to better suit our asbestos taste buds. Oh, I also threw in a little of TJ's three cheese blend, just cause I wanted to. Along with a tossed salad and a glass of wine, dinner was ready in a flash and darn tasty to boot.

The big guy and I have a really hard time practicing "moderation" when there's pasta involved and while the full recipe is said to serve 6, I cut it in half so we'd be less tempted to eat all of it. The half recipe could easily serve 5, so judge accordingly when you whip it up. For sure, we don't mind having some leftovers for lunches this week and I even love the stuff cold, but you might feel differently.

The only other word of complaint came from the kitchen after dinner as the big guy was cleaning up. Ya, I know I'm lucky he does that but he figured I musta' used every dish in the house. Now where he'd get that idea I don't know - we've got at least 8 sets of 'em and I didn't even touch the Chinese set hiding in the pantry. Ha! 

Comments

[Sarah G]

This looks really good! It must be 'chicken' week! I also have one waiting for me to cook today.

[Mags]

I just think it's so neat that the big guy does your clean up for you. I need to teach hubby that trick.

Glad to know you're still sticking to your "moderation" plan. As you know, mine's kinda gone out the window for the time being.

[June]

Sarah - we eat a lot of it, as we never seem to get tired of it. There must be a b'zillion ways to cook chicken, aren't there.

Mags - so good to "see" you! Yes, I'm very lucky that the big guy cleans up. He's a gem! As for the moderation plan - ask our scale what's happened? We're trying but the menu choices haven't exactly been fat free, or low carb. Wait'll you see tonight's.

[The Gourmet Traveller]

Yum! I struggle with portion control when it comes to pasta as well. Love pasta and this looks particularly yummy!

[June]

GT - nice to "see" you too! Pasta's one of the better comfort dishes, isn't it. Too bad it's so darn hard on the hips!