Cajun Chicken Alfredo with Zucchini

Sheila — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 05:29:50 +0000

We were recipients of a free organic rotisserie chicken yesterday, and so we used it to make a cajun chicken pasta this evening for dinner. We usually make our alfredo sauce with feta and goat cheese, but we had some pepper jack cheese in the fridge that needed to be used first so we made our sauce a little different this time. It turned out great!

The zucchini also seems like an odd choice. One would think that peppers would make the perfect accompaniment for this pasta…at least that’s what I think anyway. But I didn’t have any peppers so I tried zucchini and was quite pleased.

The jalapeno peppers in the cheese added an extra layer of heat to the sauce so I was happy with the change in our recipe. The sauce was creamy, rich, and oh-so-delicious!

By the way, this recipe makes a LOT of pasta! My guestimate is that it would serve 8 people.

Cajun Chicken Alfredo with Zucchini

Ingredients:

1 whole rotisserie or baked chicken with the meat pulled off the bones
2 medium-sized zucchinis, sliced
16 oz. dried rotini
4 qts. water
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup plain yogurt
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup Parmesan cheese
5 cups pepper jack cheese
3 tbsp. butter
5 tbsp. chili powder
salt to taste

Instructions:

Pull the meat off the bones of the rotisserie chicken and then sprinkle with 1 tbsp. chili powder. Set aside.
Wash the zucchinis and then slice them into whatever size discs you like.
Shred the Monterey jack cheese.
Melt the butter in a large pot on medium heat.
After the butter has melted, stir in the yogurt, milk, Parmesan cheese, 3 tbsp. chili powder, and the pepper jack cheese.
Turn the heat down to low, stirring the Alfredo sauce frequently until all the cheese melts and it gets thicker.
In the meantime, put 4 qts. of water in a large pot and cook on high heat until it boils.
While you’re waiting for the water to come to a boil, heat 3 tbsp. of olive oil in a large skillet until the the oil becomes hot.
Then add the zucchini discs to the oil and then cover them with 1 tbsp. of chili powder.
Cover the zucchini and cook for only 1 – 2 minutes. You want the zucchini to be warm but still crunchy.
Remove the zucchini from the pan into a dish, cover, and set it aside.
Pour most of the oil in the pan into a small bowl and set aside.
Add the chicken to the same pan that the zucchini was in and heat it until it’s warm. Set it aside when you’re done.
After the water has come to a boil, reduce the temperature to medium high.
Then add the rotini, 1 tsp. of salt, as well as the olive oil that’s left in the pan that the zucchini was fried in, stirring frequently.
Cook the pasta until it’s firm (al-dente) and then drain the water off it.
Run cold water over the pasta and set aside.
Check your Alfredo sauce to see if it’s the consistency you want it. If you want it thicker, add more Parmesan cheese. If you want it less thick, add a little more milk.
Now you’re ready to serve your pasta to your family/guests.
Place some pasta on a plate, then add some of the chicken on top of the pasta.
Drizzle some Alfredo sauce over the the pasta and chicken, and then place some zucchini on the pasta that’s covered in sauce.
Sprinkle with a little Parmesan cheese to garnish the top.
Enjoy!

Salmon Alfredo Pesto Pasta

Sheila — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 05:10:37 +0000

Kemal was in the mood for a salmon Alfredo pasta for his birthday dinner. While we were at the store purchasing the fish, he spotted some small bell peppers that he wanted to have with the pasta, and they ended up being the perfect accompaniment.

I had some buttermilk in the fridge that needed to be used, and while I would normally make our family’s famous buttermilk biscuits (more about those later), I decided to try making a loaf of buttermilk bread to go with the pasta. It was a new recipe I’d never tried before, and the bread turned out fine, but the next day it was too dry. I think from now on when it comes to buttermilk bread, I’ll stick to making my grandmother’s recipe.

Finally, for dessert we had something simple. Kemal was in the mood for fried apples. I thought maybe he might prefer something like apple pie, apple strudel, apple pita, or perhaps apple crisp, but he said all he really wanted was fried apples, so that’s what I made.

The entire dinner was delicious, and the best part is having leftovers so we can enjoy it again!

The recipes for everything are below, but keep in mind I don’t always measure things out when I cook: I just usually add ingredients until I get the desired result. I’ll try to give you a basic idea of how much I used though.

Blackened Salmon Alfredo-Pesto Pasta with Roasted Peppers

Ingredients:

Fresh salmon (we purchased two 8 ounce pieces)
olive oil
blackening or chili seasoning
pasta (your choice)
pesto sauce (about 3 tbsp.)
goat cheese (about 6 to 8 ounces)
Parmesan cheese (about 1 cup)
milk (3 cups)
Alfredo seasoning mix (2 packets)
bell peppers (we used several small yellow, orange and red ones)
green onions (one bunch)
parsley
sea salt
butter (about 3 tbsp)

Directions for Preparing the Fish and Peppers:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Oil a baking pan with olive oil
Brush salmon and whole peppers (stems included) with olive oil
Generously cover fish and peppers with blackening seasoning or chili powder
Bake until fish is cooked to your likeness (we prefer our fish well done). Depending on the size of the peppers you use and whether or not you like your peppers firm or soft, you may need to cook peppers more or less than the fish.

Directions for Preparing the Pasta:

Put a pot of water on high heat until it boils
After the water boils, add pasta, salt, and a tbsp. of olive oil
Stir pasta frequently until it’s cooked firm (al dente)
Rinse pasta with cold water and then pour into large casserole pan

Directions for Preparing the Sauce:

In a medium saucepan, fry the onions in a little olive oil.
After the onions are soft, add the milk, butter, goat cheese, and the two packets of dry Alfredo seasoning mix. Keep your heat at about medium high and stir constantly.
After the butter and cheese melts, turn the temperature down to medium.
Add the Parmesan cheese and pesto sauce
Stir constantly until the Alfredo sauce thickens. I make mine so it’s not too thick and not too runny but rather somewhere in between.

Directions for Assembling the Pasta:

How you assemble your pasta is all up to you. There are several ways you can do it, but I’ll tell you how I did it. I put my pasta in a large, rectangular, glass baking pan and then we cut the salmon in small pieces and placed it on top of the pasta. Then we added the roasted peppers, and after that we poured the Alfredo sauce over the pasta and fish. Finally, we sprinkled some parsley and a little Parmesan cheese on top to garnish it.

Final Thoughts and a Photo:

By the time we finished cooking it was around 1 a.m. and we were both starving so I didn’t photograph the pasta before we ate. I did take a picture of Kemal’s plate the next day when he had some leftovers for lunch. I really hate that you can’t see the Alfredo sauce. Trust me, I put a LOT on it, and it’s extremely moist. Hopefully next time I make this pasta I won’t be starving so I can photograph it immediately and you can see how saucy it really is. Okay, here it is with a loaf of the buttermilk bread in the background:

Elements » Alfredo

Cajun Chicken Alfredo with Zucchini

Salmon Alfredo Pesto Pasta