Yesterday was one of those days that I refused to go to the store for anything, what ever I found in the fridge to make would have to suffice. My fridge is packed but with Thanksgiving prep so I pulled out what did not give me Thanksgiving vibes to create a quick dinner for the family. During this week I limit my cooking since I will be in the kitchen for hours preparing Thanksgiving dinner. A 30 minute or under dish is all I had time to make. Back to what I found in the fridge; some chicken breast, beef smoked sausage, heavy cream, parmesan cheese, red onions, tomatoes and lots of parsley. I found some rigatoni noodles in the pantry and decided I was going to make an easy pasta dish and it came out so good. You have to try this recipe.
Cajun Chicken & Sausage Pasta
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound smoked sausage sliced
- 4 chicken breast butterflied
- 1 lb rigatoni pasta (any other pasta will work)
- 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup or more of parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon cajun seasoning
- 2 tablespoon Herb de Provence or Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon old bay
- 1/2 red onion chopped
- 2 small tomatoes chopped
- 2 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoon cooking oil (grape seed, vegetable , canola)
Directions
- Step 1 1. Boil pasta according to package
- Step 2 2. Butterfly the chicken breast by using a sharpe knife to cut along the side of the chicken. Slice the chicken close to the end but do not cut all the way through. Fold the chicken out and season on both sides with onion powder, garlic powder, cajun seasoning, paprika and pepper. Pat seasoning onto chicken well.
- Step 3 3. Add oil to a large skillet on medium high heat. Once skillet is hot, cook chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove from pan. Slice once it has cooled down
- Step 4 4. On medium heat using the same pan brown sausage for 2 minutes on both sides then add the vegetables. Sauté for 1 minute
- Step 5 5. Add heavy cream and chicken broth and whisk well. Add old bay and herb de provence and simmer for 5 minutes
- Step 6 6. Stir in parmesan cheese, then add pasta
- Step 7 7. Spoon pasta in dish and add sliced chicken. Add additional cheese or parsley