April 4, 2015

Hi all!

If you celebrate Easter, happy pre-Easter, as well! I don’t know about you, but I loved Easter growing up. The egg hunts, the chocolates and candies, my aunt’s traditional “find the dollar” hunt. I’ll fill you in on it later in the post. But for now, what you’ve been waiting for; my most recent recipe creation: a one pot meal of Creole chicken and pasta.

Here’s the background for how Easter went down for me and my family. Easter morning I would do a hunt around the house that to find the eggs and the basket the Easter bunny had left for me. It was great: sometimes my Barbies had an egg, there would be one on the mirror, in the leaves of a potted plant, etc. and the best treats were always in those eggs too.

Then, for Easter proper, my parents and I would go to my aunt and uncle’s house (the same one who introduced me to the Smith Family Cake recipe), and we’d have a second egg hunt for all the cousins and extended family kids who happened to come in their giant yard. But there was always a secondary hunt happening: the hunt for the dollar. One of my aunt’s oldest friends had begun the hunt for the dollar one year (he did the bill somewhere during the egg hiding process) and it was the kids’ job to find it  (not only did you get a dollar but you got bragging rights for the next year).

Even after I’d stopped looking for eggs, my oldest cousin and I would hunt for the dollar because it was always hidden in the most cunning places. The best has got to be when someone put the dollar under the collar of one of the dogs, so we’d be getting warmer then suddenly get cold again depending on where the dog had moved off to. Ah, good times.

Anyway, continuing my obsession with one pot meals, I present to you Creole chicken pasta. Pasta hasn’t been in many of my recipes up to now because I never really knew what to do with it beyond your basic spaghetti and meatballs and because it was so calorie laden. But when I came across this unique Creole chicken pasta with a good dose of protein and spice in addition to the pasta and the ease of making it, I was sold. I think you will be too.

Creole Chicken Pasta

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 1 (12 oz.) package of whole wheat egg noodles
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1.5 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 c. whipped cream cheese
• 1.5 tbsp. creole seasoning (I like Tony Chachere’s seasoning)
• 1 tsp. minced garlic

Directions:

1. Cut chicken breasts up into bite-sized chunks, slice bell pepper into thin slices and dice up red onion into small pieces.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions and drain, saving 1/4 c. of pasta water.
3. Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat and add the cut up chicken. Cook for 2 – 3 minutes.
4. Stir in the bell pepper and onion and cook for 4 – 5 minutes more, until the chicken is done, stirring regularly.
5. Add the whipped cream cheese, the creole seasoning, the pasta water and garlic to the chicken and veggies and stir until it’s all combined the cheese has melted.
6. Put the pasta into the pot with the chicken and sauce, and stir well then divide into six bowls and serve.