How Ya'll Are?

Even with as many cookbooks and recipe resources that I have access to, I am a creature of habit when it comes to preparing dinners. Always defaulting to what is familiar, I've now grown tired of all my favorite "go to" recipes and taken to my over-burdened cookbook shelves for inspiration and new ideas.

Not only was this vintage Cooking Light recipe for Cajun Chicken Pasta quick and easy, it was delicious too ~ you'd never really suspect it was "light" because the cream sauce is rich and flavorful. According to the Cooking Light statistics, a 2 cup serving has 493 calories and 5g of fat (we'll not discuss the fact that it has 63.3g of carbs). Honestly, I couldn't eat a 2 cup serving of this in one sitting because it was that rich and the Cajun seasoning added just the right amount of spiciness to the dish. I'm thinking you could just as easily use shrimp in place of the chicken if you preferred.

I can gawr-on-tee even Justin Wilson would be pleased with this Cajun dish!

Cajun Chicken Pasta
Cooking Light Annual Cookbook 2001
Yield: 4 servings (serving size 2 cups)

1 pound skinned, boned chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tbsp. Cajun seasoning (I used Tony Chachere's)
cooking spray (I prefer a drizzle of olive oil)
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup sliced green onions
8 ounces uncooked linguine
2 cups evaporated fat-free milk
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (I used closer to 1/2 cup)
1/2 tsp. lemon-pepper seasoning
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Cook pasta according to directions. Combine uncooked chicken and Cajun seasoning in a ziplock bag or small bowl and shake or stir to coat well. Heat a large skillet coated with cooking spray (or olive oil) over medium heat. Add chicken mixture and saute for 7 minutes or until lightly browned. Add bell peppers, mushrooms and onions and cook for three minutes. Stir in cooked and drained pasta and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly until thickened and serve immediately.