You Can Have Your...er, Pasta and Eat it too!

Okay, so I changed the saying a little bit. It's fine because of the deliciousness of the recipe I am giving you today will completely make up for it. You will want to give me a cookie after you try it. Please let it be a metaphorical cookie, I had enough real cookies for breakfast (don't judge, unless it is in approval for "Yay! cookie for breakfast time!")

Anyways, sorry, I tend to ramble sometimes as I'm sure you've noticed by now. Todays featured recipe comes to you from my sister Ally! I haven't really got to discuss much about her but truth be told....can you keep a secret? (psst, come closer, I think she is superwoman!) (but you didn't hear it from me.) She goes to school full time, works full time hours, and still has the energy and will to come fix me dinner last night...she is superwoman I'm telling you!

Back on topic I promise! For those of you that know me personally and even for those of you that don't, let me first explain to you that "Hello everyone, My name is Rachel, and I am a Carb-a-holic"
Pasta, bread, it doesn't matter, I am not judgmental as to what type of carb it is, I love it anyways, just the way it is...unless if you add butter or something else delicious to it...then I love it even more! So when I first discovered this recipe for the Cajun Chicken Pasta, on the lighter side, I was over the moon, so of course I sent it to my best friend/sister/superwoman Ally. After a long day of shopping and hanging out with my gal pals I was dead. I guess I should explain that I've been off lately due to some neurological problems, so even the smallest trip to the store or outing usually kicks me in the buttocks...anyways, moral of the story is Ally made dinner last night after shopping and it was the best thing ever...

By now I either have you wanting the recipe, or really confused on how spastic I am sometimes when I talk..well I guess type.  So for those of you that want the recipe it is below...and for those of you that are confused, don't worry...it happens to a lot of people. It takes a while to get into speaking Rachel-eese. Haha!

I found this recipe on pinterest, but it was originally from Skinny Taste, the link to the original recipe is here.

Cajun Chicken Pasta, a lighter version

Ingredients

• 8 ounces uncooked linguine (if you want to you can use whole wheat, we used regular)
• 1 pound chicken breast strips
• 1-2 tsp Cajun seasoning (more or less, depends on what you like)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 medium yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup fat free low sodium chicken broth
• 1/3 cup skim milk
• 1 tbsp flour
• 3 tbsp light cream cheese
• fresh cracked pepper
• 2 scallions, chopped (we used green onions so I could use the rest to make chicken noodle soup)
• salt to taste
• cooking spray

Directions

First things first, slice/chop/prep the veggies. In a small blender (we used a bowl and an immersion blender) and make a slurry using the milk, flour, and cream cheese. Set this aside. Season your chicken with the Cajun seasoning, garlic powder, and salt.

Cook the pasta in salted water according to the directions on the package.

Heat in a large, heavy, nonstick skillet (we used stainless steel because I currently don't own a skillet that is non stick that's big enough to hold everything.) over medium high heat and spray with cooking spray (yes, spray it even if it is non stick). Add half the chicken, cook until done, set aside and repeat for the remaining half of the chicken, set it aside also.

Add olive oil to the skillet, reduce your heat to medium and toss in the veggies (the peppers, onions and garlic) saute for 3-4 minutes.
Add mushrooms and tomatoes saute for another 3-4 minutes until veggies are tender, season with 1/4 tsp salt, garlic powder and fresh cracked pepper to taste.

Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the chicken broth and the slurry you had set aside earlier, stir about 2 minutes.

Return chicken to skillet, adjust your seasonings until you are satisfied with the taste, add in the linguini and cook until everything is hot. Toss it well, let everything get coated up and get happy, you  garnish with the chopped scallions (or green onion) and serve...

Now, according to Skinny Taste, the serving size is 1 1/2 Cups, and the calories for that serving size is 323.8...Does anyone else hear the heavens open, and angels singing...or is it just me??


This dish was amazing, and I want to thank my beloved superwoman for making it last night...just yummy, wish we had some left overs...hehe! Enjoy!