Day 12: Cajun Chicken Pasta

I try to cook for Andrew at least once a week. If I do it every day, this boy will expect a home cooked meal everyday. Thank goodness for Pinterest. So many great recipes for date night. For Andrew, his favorite dish is the Cajun Chicken Pasta.

You can find the original recipe here. I deviated from the recipe a bit, by cooking my sausage and chicken separately. I like my sausage more brown without overcooking my chicken.

Cut the sausage and cook separately

Cook until the sausage is brown

Add olive oil to cooking pan. Add cut chicken into pan and add salt and pepper to taste

Cook chicken until brown

Mince 4 garlic cloves

Add sausage to the cooked chicken. Add garlic and stir for 2 mins. 

Add 1 quart low sodium chicken broth, 2 1/2 cups of heavy cream, 1 package of penne pasta and cajun seasoning

Cook on medium high heat and let it come to a boil

In the meantime, cut up your parsley 

After it comes to a boil, cover and let it sit on low heat for 15-20 mins

Add parsley and parmesan cheese and stir.

Serve with garlic bread.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pound of chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 14 oz smoked sausage, sliced on the diagonal
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 quart of low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 1/2 cups of heavy cream
• 1 pound of dried penne pasta
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of Cajun seasoning plus more for topping
• 4 oz of freshly shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 cup of Italian flat leaf parsley, minced

Instructions

1. Start with a large covered cooking pot.
2. Season chicken with salt and pepper and brown in olive oil over medium high heat.
3. Add sausage and continue to cook until lightly browned.
4. Stir in garlic and cook for for about two minutes.
5. Add chicken broth, heavy cream, dried pasta and cajun seasoning to pot.
6. Stir together and bring to a simmer over medium high heat.
7. Reduce heat to low and let cook covered for 15-20 minutes, or until pasta is tender.
8. Remove pot from heat and stir in parmesan cheese.
9. Stir in chopped parsley and sprinkle with additional cajun seasoning to taste.