~ Cajun Chicken Pasta ~

Ok.  I've been promising this recipe to a few of y'all ever since Nick posted pics on Facebook.

However, I'm gonna cheat and paste the exact recipe that I used from The Pioneer Woman. 

 (You'll find the recipe at the bottom of this post)

You can click {here} and view her recipe and gorgeous pics and funny wit. She's a hoot!

If you still want to hang out with me, that's cool too.

I'm not gonna break it all down step by step  since she's already done that though.

But here's how it went down at our house on

 Cajun Chicken Pasta Night..

[Oh..and I apologize up front for so many blurry pics...wha?! I have no idea what was the reason for this except maybe I had way to much coffee that day or something!]

You need lots of these!

Ain't they pretty?!  Best thing is just minutes before I took this, they were still on the bush outside in our garden!  These babes are FRESH!

Chop em all up along with an onion and some garlic..

This is my garlic keeper. 

 It has been in my life for as long as I can remember.  It used to be my mommas.  

I thought everyone kept their garlic in one of these.

Forgot the yellow bell pepper!  

 LOVE having yellow and red bell peppers cuz they are ex-spens-ive!

Chop up the chicken

Then add lots and lots and lots of this!

Sorry my can's so grody.

Frying down the chicken....

Frying down the veggies...  

I think they are beautemous!!

We like our stuff spicy and yes, we buy our cayenne in large quantities.

After I cooked the fettucine and made the sauce,
(You might want to read  PW's post so you don't miss out on the "liquid gold")

I dumped it  all together and viola!....Pure Yumminess!

Only thing I did different from the original recipe is that white stuff you see...

We like cheese in this family.  Any kind is fine with us..

Cheddar, Velveeta, Swiss, blue cheese, feta and in this case...

Parmesan!

Here is Lauren getting all excited about supper.

  Not only do we like cheese in this family  but we also like bread!

But alas, I didn't have a loaf of wonderful crusty french bread or even rolls.  So...

Lauren did what her daddy has taught us to do whenever we don't have the perfect necessities...

Improvise.  Adapt.   Overcome.

And that's exactly what she did.  

She grabbed the loaf of bread and added butter and a little garlic powder.

Great Job Lauren but before I could share my years of cooking wisdom, she had already done this...

That would be a big blob of butter.

She thought it would melt and "spread".

I told her I doubted it would...

 This is her "I'm sad about that" look.

This is her "Yep, I shoulda listened to momma" look.

 Cuz this is her bread.

Notice the butter did not spread.

It didn't matter though, cuz that is REAL butter your looking at and it was YUMMO!

And last but not least....

Here is our Cajun Chicken Pasta.

You SO should try it.

Lauren said before she even swallowed the first bite..

"It's a keeper."

That's always a good sign.

Stephanie:)

ps.  Here is The Pioneer Woman's recipe that I followed:

Recipe: Cajun Chicken Pasta

Prep Time: 10 Minutes  |  Cook Time: 15 Minutes  |  Difficulty: Easy  |  Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 3 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Cut Into Cubes
• 3 teaspoons Cajun Spice Mix, More To Taste
• 1 pound Fettuccine
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 whole Green Bell Pepper, Seeded And Sliced
• 1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Seeded And Sliced
• 1/2 whole Large Red Onion, Sliced
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 4 whole Roma Tomatoes, Diced
• 2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• 1/2 cup White Wine
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• Cayenne Pepper To Taste
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
• Salt To Taste
• Chopped Fresh Parsley, To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain when pasta is still al dente; do not overcook!

Sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun spice over chicken pieces. Toss around to coat. Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy skillet over high heat. Add half the chicken in a single layer; do not stir. Allow chicken to brown on one side, about 1 minute. Flip to the other side and cook an additional minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a clean plate.

Repeat with remaining chicken. Remove chicken, leaving pan on high heat.

Add remaining olive oil and butter. When heated, add peppers, onions, and garlic. Sprinkle on remaining Cajun spice, and add salt if needed. Cook over very high heat for 1 minute, stirring gently and trying to get the vegetables as dark/black as possible. Add tomatoes and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Remove all vegetables from the pan.

With the pan over high heat, pour in the wine and chicken broth. Cook on high for 3 to 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Reduce heat to medium-low and pour in cream, stirring/whisking constantly. Cook sauce over medium-low heat for a few minutes, until cream starts to thicken the mixture. Taste and add freshly ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, and/or salt to taste. Sauce should be spicy!

Finally, add chicken and vegetables to sauce, making sure to include all the juices that have drained onto the plate. Stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until mixture is bubbly and hot. Add drained fettuccine and toss to combine.

Top with chopped fresh parsley and chow down!