Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta

 

I recently discovered EatingWell.com. Not that I did not know they existed, I knew they were out there but I never actually made a recipe of theirs. I figured I could make my own healthy recipes inspired by dishes I saw here and there that were not labeled with any of those diet buzz words. 

Sorry to say, although I had intentions of following this recipe verbatim, when I got to the whole can of tomatoes, I took a left turn and never looked back.

It's not that I don't like tomatoes and sauces they make but when I read creamy in the menu, I assumed it was creamy. So many things went wrong here and the recipe that ended up on my dinner plate started out as one thing and ended up totally different. While one day I suppose I will remake this dish as written, I liked my version, so I am posting that.

For the tomato in my recipe, I seeded and chopped 10 compari tomatoes, my new favorite winter tomato. They run from 2" to 2 1/2", come on the vine and are greenhouse grown. I buy them at Cosco, in a blister pack at a good price and they are sweet and meaty.

The creamy was a 1/3 cup ricotta cheese and grated Romano. I also added red peppers because I do not like green and I cut my breast into strips not chunks.

I omitted the bacon and used a fresh fettuccine instead of fusilli.

I really do apologize for all this subterfuge but this is a good way of showing you how to take an idea and make it your own.

While a very tasty dish, it just didn't tickle the taste buds and I suppose I was really hoping for a Creole shrimp dish using chicken. Unfortunately the Italian in me just won't stay away and I would have been better just making the chicken in the sauce without bringing the pasta into play. If you are looking for a quick, spicy but lightly sauced pasta with chicken, make this recipe. You will not be sorry. Tame enough for the little ones but with enough zing to qualify it as Cajun. This is one dish where serving a side of Louisiana hot sauce should be on the menu.

This dish will be better the day after and since it made enough for an army, the day after the day after the day after.

Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta

Inspired by eatingwell.com

6 servings, about 1 1/2 cups each

Ingredients

Marinade
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt & pepper

Chicken and Pasta
1 large or 2 medium boneless chicken breasts, sliced into thin strips
9ounce package fresh fettuccine (I bought Buitoni)

Sauce 

1 large sweet onion, cut into 1" pieces
1/2 red pepper, 1" slices
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup white wine
10 chopped fresh tomatoes or 2/3 cup canned diced tomatoes
1/3 cup reduced-fat ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese

Preparation

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta until just tender, 5 to 7 minutes or according to package directions. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chicken with marinade and saute until chicken is just cooked. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon, leaving marinade in the pan. Add onion, pepper and garlic to residual marinade and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add additional Cajun seasoning and pepper. Cook stirring, until the onion and bell pepper are beginning to soften, about 4 minutes.
3. Add wine to deglaze the pan and then the flour and stir to coat. Add tomatoes and their juice; bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring often, until the sauce is bubbling. Add chicken to cook through. Remove from the heat. Stir in cheese.
4. Stir the pasta into the sauce. Serve sprinkled with parsley, if desired.

Exchanges per serving:
2 starch
2 vegetable
2 lean meat
3 fat