Chicken and Pasta with Peppery Cheese Sauce

I'm trying a few new recipes this week. One of my New Year's resolutions was to try at least one new recipe a week. Lately, I've been trying a few too many desserts (!) so I thought I should move back to main courses.

This is a nice change of pace for pasta. There are very few recipes that I try that I don't tweak something in the future, and this is no exception. This is a good recipe, and it calls for ingredients that I almost always have on hand. The biggest change I would make is in the type of cheese used - it calls for Monterey Jack but next time I think I would use sharp cheddar - it just needs a bit more zip. I also held back a bit on the jalapenos, not wanting to become dragon lady, but next time I would use all that it calls for (the WHOLE 1 Tbsp!).

Put on a pot of water to boil, and when it is boiling, add the pasta. Meanwhile, place chicken in a medium bowl. Sprinkle the flour and peppers (white, black and cayenne!) over it and stir well to combine. Next, chop up the vegetables. Please, please, please wear gloves while you chop the jalapenos!



After the jalapeno is chopped, take off the gloves and wash your hands with soap before touching your face! There's a reason they're called "hot" peppers - and you don't want to experience stinging eyes or nose. Today's tip: where I buy jalapenos, you have to buy several at a time. This recipe only uses part of 1 pepper. You can freeze the rest, whole or chopped, and then take them out of the freezer as needed for other recipes.

I love how pretty different colored vegetables are all together!



Saute the vegetables for a few minutes til they are soft. Remove them from the pan, add some olive oil, and saute the chicken until it's done. You want to make sure you have lots of yummy, crusty brown bits in your skillet:



Remove the chicken and add flour to the pan, scraping up the brown bits. Add the chicken broth and keep scraping. You want to get all that yummy stuff off the pan and into the sauce!



Add the milk and worcestershire sauce and stir until it is thickened and bubbly. (This is just a variation of the white sauce we made for the ham and broccoli casserole...) Turn the heat to low and add the shredded cheese, stirring constantly until the cheese is melted.



Now take about a cup of the sauce and stir it into the sour cream. Then return it to the pan and stir to combine. Add the chicken and the vegetables back into the pan and cook on low until heated through. You don't want this to boil or it will split, and that just looks gross.



Drain the pasta, and arrange it on the serving platter or individual dishes (I always think it's easier to deal with pasta on individual dishes.) Ladle the sauce over the pasta. If you'd like you can garnish with some sliced jalapenos for extra zing and nice presentation!

Chicken and Pasta with Peppery Cheese Sauce

8 oz dried spaghetti or fettucine
1 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. ground red pepper (cayenne)
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
3 small chicken breasts (8 oz. total) cut in 1 inch pieces
olive oil
1 medium red or green pepper, chopped (1 cup)
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 Tbsp. chopped, seeded jalapeno peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. flour
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (or Monterey jack)
1/4 cup sour cream

Bring a large pot of water to boil, and add pasta, stirring once. (Pasta will cook for 15-20 minutes, til al dente.)

Meanwhile, place chicken in a medium bowl. Sprinkle the flour and dried peppers over it and stir well to combine.

In a large skillet, heat about 1 T. olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chopped peppers, onion and garlic and cook and stir til vegetables are tender. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add chicken to the skillet, adding more oil if necessary beforehand. Cook and stir for 4 or 5 minutes til chicken is nicely browned. Remove the chicken from the skillet. Add flour to the pan, stirring into the drippings in the skillet. Add the chicken broth, milk and worcestershire sauce and stir until it is thickened and bubbly, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove the brown bits.

Turn the heat to low and add the shredded cheese, stirring constantly until the cheese is melted. Stir 1 cup of the sauce into the sour cream; return it all to the pan and stir to combine. Add the chicken and the vegetables and cook on low until heated through; do not boil.

Drain the pasta, and arrange it on the serving platter or individual dishes. Ladle the sauce over the pasta, and garnish with some sliced jalapenos. Makes 4 servings.