Cajun Chicken Pasta

I love cajun food with a little bit of kick, but its hard to find it up here in Canada which means that I had no choice but to try and make it myself. This Cajun Chicken Pasta is loaded with great creole flavour, juicy chicken and crisp vegetables tossed in a creamy pasta sauce. Usually a dish like this at a restaurant would be loaded with calories, but I was able to cut this back by using less butter and olive oil, and swapping out heavy cream for low fat sour cream. You won't even notice the change as this dish still packs a great punch. We had lots of leftovers and I have to admit that this tasted even better the next day as leftovers. If you're looking for a dinner to shake up your routine, give this a try.

What you'll need:
8 ounces Linguine Pasta
1 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, chopped into bite size pieces
3 tbsp Cajun Seasoning
2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tbsp Butter
1 Red Pepper, seeded and sliced
1 Green Pepper, seeded and sliced
1 Onion, sliced
3 cloves Garlic, minced
6 Mushrooms, sliced
1/2 tsp Dried Basil
1 cup Low Fat Sour Cream
Juice from half a Lemon
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Toss the pieces of chicken in cajun seasoning until well coated. Meanwhile bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

In a large skillet on high heat, melt 1 tbsp of butter in 1 tbsp of olive oil. Place half the chicken in the skillet and do not stir until it is browned on one side, about 5 minutes. Flip and cook for a few more minutes until cooked through. Remove chicken to a clean plate and repeat the process with the remaining chicken. When cooked, remove the rest of the chicken to the plate.

Toss the linguine into the boiling water and cook for 8-10 minutes or until al dente. Meanwhile add the remaining butter and olive oil to the skillet and saute the onion, mushrooms, peppers, garlic and dried basil. I also tossed in half a jalapeno for some extra heat.

Add more cajun seasoning to vegetables if you'd like more heat, but just be careful to not add too much if your seasoning contains salt. In that case use a little bit of cayenne pepper instead.

Add the cooked chicken and all its juices back into the pan, along with the low fat sour cream. Stir until it is all combined.

Add the sauce mixture to the drained pasta and toss until well combined. Tongs are great for this step.

I also added in the juice from half of a lemon for a little more flavour. Give it a taste and add any salt or pepper if needed.

A little bit of Cajun on a cold winter night is a welcome treat.

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