Cajun Chicken Pasta

Two years ago on Valentine's day I was pregnant, tired and uncomfortable. My husband told me he'd take care of dinner and when I got home he was hard at work cooking dinner for me. I was so thankful for the dinner. He chose the recipe, shopped for the ingredients, and cooked the whole thing all on his own. I got to relax my pregnant self. When we sat down for dinner we both fell in love with this pasta. It is creamy, spicy, and delicious.

We make it pretty much according to the website he found it on with a few exceptions. We leave out the mushrooms, and instead of using all heavy cream, we use half heavy cream and half half and half. Wow - that was a lot of halfs.

This pasta also reheats really well. Sometimes I think it's better the second day.





Cajun Chicken Pasta
From: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1/2 pound linguine pasta
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
butter or olive oil
2 red bell pepper, sliced
2 green bell pepper, sliced
8 fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 green onion, chopped
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

Place the chicken and the Cajun seasoning in a plastic bag. Shake to coat. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the chicken in butter or olive oil until almost tender (5 to 7 minutes).

Add the red bell pepper, green bell pepper, mushrooms and green onion. Saute and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat.

Add the cream, basil, lemon pepper, salt, garlic powder and ground black pepper. Heat through. Add the cooked linguine, toss and heat through. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and serve.

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

This has become one of our favorite meals. I have changed it a little from the original by using cooked turkey sausage instead of andouille and increasing the amount of meat. Using the smoked sausage cuts out some fat, some cook time, and it's easier to find in most stores.

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

Adapted from: Cooking.com

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion - diced

2 ribs celery - diced

1 green bell pepper - diced

2 cloves garlic - minced

2 cups rice

4 cups low sodium chicken broth

1/2 tsp cayenne

2 bay leaves

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 lb Turkey Smoked Sausage, cut into 1/4 inch slices

1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch pieces

Directions:

Heat oil in large pot. Add vegetables and garlic until soft. Add rice, broth, sausage, cayenne, bay leaves and salt. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 15 minutes.

Stir in chicken. Cover and simmer until chicken is just done. Usually 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand covered for 2 minutes.

Cajun Chicken...Pizza?

So a few years ago, my husband decided to make me a special dinner for Valentine's day. I was pregnant that year and craved pasta all. the. time. He found a recipe for a cajun chicken pasta that we both fell in love with and have continued to make regularly.

I will blog that recipe next time I make it.

But last night I decided to change it up a bit and make a cajun chicken pizza. I was pretty much wingin it on this one and using stuff I had on hand. I also 'cheated' and bought a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken. I love getting one of those and chopping the meat for several meals.

I used a whole wheat pizza crust recipe from GoldMedal Flour. It's pretty good and gives us a few whole grains with our meal.

I wish I would have taken more photos along the way, but I only have one of the finished product. It was SOOOO good and tasted almost exactly like the pasta.

Cajun Chicken Pizza

Crust:

from: Gold Medal Flour

(makes 2 pizza crusts)

Ingredients:

1 package active dry yeast

1 cup warm (100-110 degree) water

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

Directions:

Add water, yeast and sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes until foamy. Using the dough hook, turn mixer on low and add olive oil and salt. Add flour in slowly. Once mixture is combined increase the speed and knead the mixture for 3-5 minutes.

Add a tablespoon or so of olive oil to a bowl. Once dough is formed, move it to the bowl and roll it around to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm, non-drafty spot for at least an hour.

Topping - for 1 crust:

Ingredients:

1-2 chicken breasts - diced and cooked

cajun seasoning

1 red pepper - diced

1 green pepper - diced

3 stalks green onion - diced

1 cup alfredo sauce

1 tbsp basil

1 tsp lemon pepper

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

Mozarella cheese

Parmesan cheese

olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425.

Add a tbsp or less of olive oil to a skillet. Dice up the peppers and onion and add to oil. Sautee until vegetables are soft. Add chicken and cajun seasoning to taste. We use about 1 tbsp of cajun seaoning. Cook until chicken is warmed through.

In a small sauce pan mix alfredo sauce with basil, lemon pepper, black pepper and salt. Heat through.

Punch down dough. Use half for this pizza and refrigerate the other half or top with other ingredients. Roll out dough into 12 inch circle. Sprinkle baking sheet with cornmeal to avoid sticking.

Spread sauce on dough. Add chicken/veggie mixture and top with cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes.