Louisiana Chicken Pasta

I am not really sure where to begin to talk about this dish. My husband and I both love cajun food. This looked like it would be a fantastic hit. The preparation and cooking was so easy for this I thought that maybe I had missed an ingredient (as usual) or it wasn't going to be what I had expected. It completely surpassed both of our expectations!! This was a 110% success. All of the spices came together perfectly. There wasn't too many bell peppers. The pasta and sauce went wonderfully together. The only thing I might change next time is adding a little more chicken for my husband. He likes his meat.

I was also surprised to find out that my dish (despite my best picture taking efforts) actually looked almost the exact same as the original blog I found it on. That almost never happens! And my husband took every last morsel for himself the next day for lunch. I think next time I will double the recipe with no problem. I'm sure the leftovers will get eaten very quickly around here. The recipe below is adapted to what I will make next time (just adding that extra half chicken breast).

Louisiana Chicken Pasta

Adapted from: Annie's Eats, originally Smells Like Home

For chicken:

1 tbsp butter

1.5 boneless chicken breasts, uncooked, cubed

salt and pepper, to taste

cajun seasoning, to taste

For pasta and sauce:

8-10 ounces bowtie pasta

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp canola oil

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1/4 cup onion, chopped (I omitted this time)

salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 tsp cajun seasoning

1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper

1.5 cups whipping cream

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp water

3 scallions, chopped

First, heat a medium skillet on medium-high heat melting 1 tbsp butter. Once melted add the cubed, uncooked chicken, salt and pepper. Toss to combine until chicken is cooked thoroughly. Meanwhile, begin to heat a pot of boiling water for the pasta. When chicken is done, set in small bowl and set aside (it may cool off but this is okay). Cook pasta in boiling water according to package directions until desired consistency.

While pasta is cooking, heat butter and oil in medium skillet (used previously for chicken) on medium heat. Once butter is melted add peppers and onion. Mix in the salt, pepper, cajun and cayenne seasonings. Cook until peppers are softened (about 6-8 minutes). Add whipping cream to skillet and simmer. Meanwhile, in a very small bowl, combine cornstarch and water and whisk well. Once skillet mixture has started to bubble, add the cornstarch mixture. Continue to simmer abother 5 minutes until thickened, stirring frequently.

When sauce has thickened, add chicken and pasta. Toss to coat well and cook on medium-high heat for a few minutes to warm chicken pieces up. You may add additional cajun seasoning to taste. I added another 1.5 tsp at this point because we like a lot of spiciness!! Also add the scallions at the last step. Toss well and serve warm.