Monday, August 29, 2011

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

This is another example of my poor picture taking skills. This pasta doesn't come out looking super appetizing, but it is so delicious. I got this recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. I think most of you probably already have it, but just in case.
I know my noodles are a little crazy. I had some of the vegetable penne noodles, hence the green noodles, and then a bunch of rotini noodles to use up.

Ingredients
2-3 Chicken Breasts, cooked and cubed or shredded
2 T Olive Oil
2 Garlic Cloves, finely minced
1 Medium Onions, diced
1 Red Pepper- I always use green since the red are so expensive.
4 oz. Can Diced Green Chilies
1/2 t Salt
2 t Chili Powder
2 10 oz. Can Green Chili Enchilada Sauce
2/3 C Red Enchilada Sauce
1 C Sour Cream
1 1/2 C Shredded Cheese- I use cheddar.
16-20 oz. Penne Pasta- This recipe ends up very saucy so I always use 20 or more ounces of pasta as measure on my kitchen scale.

Bring large pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta until tender. While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet and add the onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes until onion is translucent. Add the garlic and red pepper and cook for another2 minutes, until pepper is barely tender. Add the cooked chicken, green chilies, spices, and enchilada sauces. Let the sauce simmer for about 8-10 minutes. Add the sour cream and cheese and heat through, unitl the cheese is melted, but don't boil. Pour the cause over the hot pasta.

I also learned a couple of things from a friend about cooking pasta.
1- Adding oil to the noodles while cooking does absolutely nothing, so don't bother. If you don't want your noodles to stick together, boil them in more water than you normally would.
2- Add salt to your pasta after the water is already boiling to add extra flavor to the pasta. but if you add it when the water is cold it could ruin you pot.
3- Hopefully you all know this already, but just in case, don't rinse your noodles after you have drained the water out. This washes away the starches that helps the sauce stick to your noodles.

So good pasta cooking to you.



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