Creamy Chicken Cajun Pasta

Tuesday Night Patty brought Creamy Chicken Cajun Pasta.  She found the recipe on Pinterest.  That seems to be a great place to find things when you're looking!

Source: delish.com via Patty on Pinterest

Creamy Chicken Cajun Pasta (via delish)

• 8 ounce(s) whole-wheat fusilli or rotini
• 1 tablespoon(s) canola oil
• 2 slice(s) bacon, chopped
• 1 large sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 pound(s) boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 medium green bell pepper, sliced
• 3 clove(s) garlic, minced
• 4 teaspoon(s) Cajun seasoning (see Tip)
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon(s) all-purpose flour
• 1 can(s) (28-ounce) crushed tomatoes
• 1/3 cup(s) reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/2 cup(s) sliced scallions for garnish

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes or according to package directions. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add bacon and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add chicken, bell pepper, garlic, Cajun seasoning, and pepper. Cook stirring, until the onion and bell pepper are beginning to soften, about 4 minutes.
3. Add flour and stir to coat. Add tomatoes and their juice; bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring often, until the sauce is bubbling and thickened and the chicken is cooked through, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in sour cream.
4. Stir the pasta into the sauce. Serve sprinkled with scallions, if desired.
   
   Exchanges: 2 starch, 2 vegetable, 2 lean meat, 1 fat Carbohydrate Servings: 2 1/2 Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (53% daily value), Vitamin A (23% dv), Iron (21% dv), Magnesium & Potassium (20% dv).

And in fashion, this is what ours looked like:
 Hello Yum!! 

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Cajun Night!!!!!

I'm so ready for Cajun night at the shack tonight!! Cajun food has always been one of my favorites because it features some of my favorite things, onions, sausage, lots of spice, and of course crawdads!!! So since I'm so excited I'm going to go ahead and share my recipe for tonight, Crawdad Etouffe! This is one of my families favorite meals, I have made it many times and it always disappears quickly!



Crawdad Etouffe

1 1/2 to 2 sticks of butter
2 medium sized yellow onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups finely chopped celery
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 to 1 cup of flour
1 Tablespoon of salt
1/2 Tablespoon of pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning, whatever kind you prefer
1/2 to 1 Teaspoon Cayenne pepper
4 to 6 cups of water
1 or 2 Tablespoons chicken bouillion, or even better fish or seafood bouillion
1/2 to 1 cup chopped green onions
2 pounds peeled and cleaned crawdad tails

1. In a large pot melt your butter, then add the onions, garlic, and celery (you can also add a 1/2 cup or so of bell peppers if you want, I don't care for them so I don't include them). Let the onions and celery cook until nicely carmelized and tender.

2. Add your flour to the pot. Start with just a half cup and add more just until you have a nice thick roux that is almost like a paste. Turn the heat down to medium and let this cook just a bit but keep watch on it or it will burn.

3. When the roux is a nice brown color add the water and stir well making sure to get all the nice browned bits off the bottom. Add all of your seasonings and the bouillion and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and let cook for awhile stirring occasionally.

4. After that simmers for about 20 minutes add the crawdads and  green onions and simmer another 10 or fifteen minutes.

5. And finally serve over hot steamed or boiled rice or you can just eat it plain.

The seasonings in this recipe can be adapted according to your own personal tastes. If you like it spicy add more cayenne, or less if you don't like as much spice. Just remember to taste the food as it cooks to get the flavors just the way you like them. And remember most of the time the crawdads you find will be precooked so they don't have to cook very long, and also if you let them cook to long they can give the dish a bit of a fishy flavor.


I hope this day goes by quickly because typing up this recipe has my mouth watering for some Crawdad Etouffe and all the other great Cajun foods that I'm sure will be at the shack tonight. Anyway happy Tuesday to everyone!! I hope your days are sunshiny and fun filled!!!

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Donnie's Delight

Inspiration came from this pin

Source: franksredhot.com via Tasha on Pinterest

Donnie's Delight
2 pkgs. cream cheese,
8 oz. ranch dressing,
2 -10 oz. cans chicken, drained well
shredded cheddar.
Couple Dashes of Hot Sauce

Melt first 3 ingredients together with a handful of shredded cheddar. Mix in chicken (I shred it).  Add a couple dashes of hot sauce. Pour into baking dish. Sprinkle top with shredded cheddar (light cover). Bake at 375 for 15-20 mins or until cheese on top is melted. Serve with crackers.

and ours turned out like this:


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