tennessee girl cooks louisana food? you betcha!

As you can see, the idea of this blog has kind of turned into a cooking blog. But it's more than that! It's a cooking blog run by all of my friends from home (and we all now live all over the states...) so this is a way since we can't eat dinner together, we can share our recipes that work and are delicious with each other!

so today's recipe comes to us from the deep south...from ms. pretty bride herself! enjoy!!

louisana chicken pasta

found here

When I first saw this recipe I knew I had to make it. After all, it had our favorite menu items (peppers, onions, and cayenne pepper) but was in a pasta dish. Normally these ingrediants are used in all of our mexican dishes, most casseroles, hell, we even put them in our burgers. Anyway, the only problem was that I am trying to make the commitment to being healthy, without going to extremes, because that would never work. I edited Annie's recipe a little to make it a little more healthy. Instead of using 1/2 cup whipping cream and 1 cup half and half. I used 1-1/2 cups fat free half and half. To thicken the consistency a little from the absence of whipping cream I used 1-1/2 Tbsp of cornstarch mixed with 1-1/2 Tbsp of water (instead of 1 tsp of each). I also only used olive oil (no butter). And of course whole wheat pasta. I prepared garlic bread by broiling whole grain bread sprayed with spray butter, garlic salt and parmeson cheese. So, while it still isn't the healthiest of meals, it was great to have a creamy pasta dish without all the fat. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
For the chicken:
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
Salt and pepper
Cajun seasoning

For the pasta:
8 oz. bowtie pasta - whole wheat
Kosher salt

For the sauce:
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
1/4 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1-1/2 cups fat free half-and-half

1-1/2 tbsp. cornstarch
1-1/2 tbsp. water

Directions:
To cook the chicken, heat a small amount of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, and a generous sprinkle of Cajun seasoning. Add to the skillet and cook until lightly browned and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain the cooked pasta and set aside.

Meanwhile, return the skillet to medium heat and heat the olive oil until the butter has melted. Add the bell peppers and onion to the pan. Mix in the salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning and cayenne pepper. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 6-8 minutes. Add the fat free half-and-half the pan and bring to a simmer. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water, and add to the skillet once the cream mixture has started to bubble. Allow to cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.

When the sauce has thickened, add the cooked pasta and chicken pieces to the pan. Stir well to combine and cook at medium-low heat just until the chicken is warmed through. Adjust the amount of Cajun seasoning if necessary to suit your tastes. Serve immediately and top with additional Cajun seasoning, if desired.

So we asked a genuine Louisana boy what he thought of it, Mr. Kyle Hornsby, and he said, "you give that girl a high five, wooooohooo!!!"