Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Spicy Chicken Pasta

This is a great weeknight dinner! I like that there's a little green leafy vegetable slipped in, Justin said that he liked the bites with spinach better than the bites without! Wow! I also like that everything cooks in one large skillet, it makes clean up a cinch! Which meant we had plenty of time to see Night at the Museum 2 (great family movie) and watch Jon & Kate Plus 8 announce their divorce (which made Abbott cry). Making this pasta reminded me of an awesome stop-motion animation video!

PES gives his unique vision of cooking a spaghetti dinner. He transposes various household items into their humorous counterparts in the kitchen (a clove of garlic becomes a Rubik's cube, dry spaghetti become pick-up sticks). I love watching it!

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
Cajun seasoning
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 can of tomatoes with green chilies, pulsed in a blender to break up the large chunks
A big handful of fresh spinach
1 box of Gemelli pasta(or whatever is you prefer)

Directions
Prepare pasta according to package directions. Sprinkle lots of Cajun seasoning on the chicken breasts and cook them in a large skillet. When the chicken is done take it out of the pan, shred the breasts, and set aside for later. Now pour the olive oil into the same large skillet. Add the minced garlic. Cook over medium-low heat until tender. Add the can of tomatoes with green chilies (remember to mince or pulse it, you want the consistency of salsa). Let the juice cook and reduce. Add butter and flour to the skillet to make a roux. Add milk and stir continuously until it starts to thicken up, if it gets too thick add a little more milk. Add the shredded chicken, Parmesan cheese, and salt to the sauce. Now shake on some more Cajun seasoning, taste the sauce, and shake on some more! If I were to guess I think I used 3-4 teaspoons of Cajun seasoning. When the cheese is melted add the spinach and pasta, cook just until spinach starts to wilt.

8 comments:

Coleens Recipes said...

We REALLY enjoy one pot meals like this. Thanks for posting!! I don't blame your little one for crying at the John & Kate episode...I watched and got a little tight in the throat myself.

taylor tholen said...

this looks fantastic! i will be trying this soon!

Katy ~ said...

I love a one healthier one dish meal like this! We like all the ingredients (and I love the convenience!!) so this is on our must-do list. Thanks for sharing a delicious post!

Donna-FFW said...

Love one dish meals such as this, perfect! Sounds delicious!

Creative Classroom Core said...

A perfect weeknight meal! Sounds great!

Creative Classroom Core said...

Hello again!
In response to the comment you left me, the fondant is really easy to make! (and even easier if you buy it :) ) If you can play with playdough, you can make awesome things out of fondant - it is that easy!

Too bad you don't live closer! I would invite you over for a fondant "playdate" :)

Chad Smith said...

What a great meal! I cooked last night for my wife for V-day and she loved it. I do not cook a lot and your recipe was very easy to follow. Because we love spicy meals, the only minor modification was that I added in Hot Rotel tomatoes and chilies. I also think you could go a little more than a handful of spinach as I enjoyed that part as well and didn't add enough. Thanks again for a great recipe.

Here's a photo of how it turned out on my wife's plate. We added two pieces of garlic buttered bread. Fantastic!

http://flic.kr/p/7D6c94

www.vbarcelone.com said...

Goodness, there is a lot of worthwhile info above!