Pinterest FTW

The Scene: 5:00 pm on a Thursday night. I'm sitting on the couch with my squirmy 16 month old who is pointing at her mouth, telling me she's hungry. Enter Pinterest's food and drink section, where I find this recipe for Cajun Chicken Alfredo. Enter Dora the Explorer. Enter dinner!

Here's my shrunken (because leftover alfredo is just the worst), adapted to what I had on hand recipe for...


Cajun Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

1/2 package of fettuccine noodles
1 chicken breast
Cajun seasoning (I just happened to have some in my 4-year-old spice rack that I've never used, it's okay)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/8 cup chicken stock (actually water seasoned with chicken base, it's okay)
1 large clove garlic
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved (Thank you Bountiful Baskets. I would've never had these on hand otherwise.)
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp. butter
1 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Boil pasta according to package directions.

2. Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Thinly slice chicken breast and liberally season each side with cajun seasoning. Cook chicken in oil for 3-5 minutes on each side, or until browned. Remove chicken and set aside and dump excess oil.

3. Add chicken stock to de-glaze* the pan. Add tomatoes and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook on medium-medium-lowish heat for 3-4 minutes or until tomatoes start to break down and stock reduces. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

4. Add cream and butter. Bring to simmer, reduce heat to low, simmer for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Add cream cheese and stir until melted in. Turn off heat and add parmesan cheese. Stir until melted.

6. When the pasta is finished cooking, rinse it in cold water. (I know this goes against Italian pasta cooking rules, but the blogger who I stole this recipe from recommended it and I thought it might be the solution to my dry, gummy alfredo problem, and it was! I will do this whenever I make alfredo from now on. Sorry Mario Batali.)

7. Add pasta and chicken to sauce and stir to combine. Eat immediately, like I said, reheated alfredo is just the worst.

*My show-off word of the day is Deglaze = to add wine or other liquid to a pan in which meat has been roasted or sauteed so as to make a sauce that incorporates the cooking juices.--Dictionary.com