Skinny Cajun Chicken Penne

Submitted by CaliforniaJan

"Cajun flavored chicken served with hearty sauce and whole wheat penne pasta."

 

• Ready In: 30mins
• Ingredients: 14
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 1 lb chicken tenderloins, diced
• 1 tablespoon creole seasoning
• 6 ounces whole-grain penne pasta (uncooked)
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 3⁄4 cup skim milk
• 1⁄4 cup sun-dried tomato paste, spread
• 2 green onions (dice white and light green parts)
• 1⁄8 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (or to taste)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1⁄4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

directions

1. In a medium bowl, toss diced chicken with 1 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning and stir to completely coat. Set aside.
2. Bring a medium pot of water to boil and cook penne according to directions for al dente pasta. Drain and set aside.
3. In a large skillet (cast iron if you have it), melt 1-1/2 tablespoons of butter and 1 teaspoon of olive oil over medium-high heat.
4. Add chicken to skillet and cook for 4-6 minutes or until cooked through. Remove chicken from pan and cover.
5. Turn heat to low and add 1 tablespoon of flour to the pan (you should sill have some butter/oil left in there) and stir/whisk constantly until the flour/butter forms a pasty roux mixture. Do not let this burn, it will only take a minute.
6. Slowly add 3/4 cup of skim milk while whisking constantly to keep lumps from forming. If lumps do form, just smush them up with a spatula and continue to whisk. Mixture should be smooth.
7. Add 1/4 cup sundried tomato past, 2 diced green onions, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, 1 clove of minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley, and 1/4 teaspoon of dried basil. Turn heat up to medium/medium-high and whisk together and cook until mixture thickens.
8. Add penne, chicken, and 1/4 cup of parmesan to the skillet, and stir to coat.
9. Serve immediately with a nice green salad.

Reviews

[Dr. Jenny]

I loved this recipe for dinner tonight. DH liked it. The sauce was amazing. I'm vegetarian, so I subbed my favorite faux chicken that I recently discovered, in this dish (Beyond Meat's grilled chicken free strips, which happen to be cholesterol and gluten free as well as non GMO). This worked perfect for me, but meat eating DH likes the strips a little less than I do. I had half and half on hand that needed using so the pasta wasn't as skinny as was posted. I used Earth Balance (vegan) for the butter. I used a creole seasoning from Spice Merchants. DH thought the sauce was so good, he might like to have this again sans the "chicken." I know I would like it either way. I am so glad I found sun dried tomato paste as regular tomato paste would not be a substitute, in my opinion. Going into my keeper file. Thanks, Jan!