Cajun Chicken Pasta

This was delicious (and yet another recipe sourced from the Pioneer Woman). I've always been a fan of pasta with lots of sauce but I've never really gone the tomatoey route. If you look in my cupboard you'll see a few big jars of tomato based pestos but check out how many basil ones there are in my fridge - that's my weakness and my favourite as well! But on with this yummy pasta which is neither basil nor tomato related but a great throw it all in the pan dish (and relatively cheap too). Now this served 2 but with lots of leftovers, most of my recipes could feed 4 people I reckon because I like to make sure we have food for lunch the following day.

Ingredients

• Chicken thighs or breasts (2-3 - enough to feed who you want to feed)
• Pasta (any type & again enough to feed who you want to feed, I generally use 2/3 of a bag)
• 3tsp Cajun seasoning (or in my case Cayenne Pepper)
• 2tbsp olive oil
• 2tbsp butter
• 1 red capsicum (sliced & diced)
• 1 green capsicum (sliced & diced)
• 3 tsp minced garlic
• 1 can diced tomatoes (but you can use real tomatoes)
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 cup cream (I used the Philly Cooking Cream)
• Chopped parsley to serve
• Lemon pepper, salt... to season if you want

Method

1. Cook pasta according to packet directions.
2. Cut up the chicken and sprinkle with Cajun seasoning (1.5tsp is recommended but go with what you want). Heat 1tbsp of oil & 1tbsp of butter in a non-stick pan and start to cook chicken (let it brown on one side before turning). Once the chicken is browned on both sides (usually 1 minute on high heat) put on a clean plate and cover with alfoil. If you have a lot of chicken don't over load the pan and do it in batches.

3. Add remaining oil and butter to pan (don't clean it in between) and once heated add the capsicum & garlic and sprinkle with cajun seasoning (you can add some salt if you want). Cook over a very high heat, you want the capsicum to go a little black, for at least a minute stirring gently and then add your tomatoes. If you used canned tomatoes then cook these down a bit due to the juice in the can. Once that's all cooked through put the vegetables in a bowl off to one side.

4. Still have the pan over a high heat and add the wine and chicken stock. Cook for 3-5 minutes and scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the good bits floating around. Reduce the heat to medium-low (this is where my stove sucks and I wish it wasn't electric!) and pour in/dollop in the cream stirring constantly. Once the sauce has thickened have a taste (best part!) and add any extra seasoning you think it may need - this is usually where I add more cayenne pepper & lemon pepper - if you like spice you want this sauce to be spicy so keep adding away.

5. Add the chicken and veggies back to the pan (including all the juices from the plate/bowl - can't forget those goodies). Stir & cook until it all starts bubbling away and then add the pasta and make sure you cover it in the sauce/chicken/veggies. Once it's all heated through you're ready to go. Serve with chopped parsley.

As with any recipe the more often you do this one the quicker it is to make. I'd say you're looking at 20mins prep time (with all the chopping) and about 20mins cooking time (factoring in your pasta...).