Cajun Chicken and Sausage Alfredo Pasta

This is a recipe made by special request from my son.

3 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 C cooked andouille sausage
1 C sundried tomatoes, chopped
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
cajun seasoning
1/4 c white wine
3 c heavy cream
1 lb penne pasta, cooked al dente
1 c parmesan cheese
parsley

Turn on oven to 350

Coat chicken in cajun seasoning and blacken both sides over high heat in a cast iron skillet. Put in oven for 10 minutes or until it comes to 165 degrees. Slice chicken in strips and set aside.

In a large pot, heat oil and sauté garlic, sausage, chicken slices,  sun dried tomatoes, and T of cajun seasoning. Deglaze pan with white wine. Add heavy cream and bring to a boil to thicken sauce.

Add Parmesan, salt and pepper, parsley. Then stir in pasta.

Serve with green salad.

Claire's White Chicken Chili

My friend, Claire, makes the best white chili. Thanks for sharing your recipe! We make this with red chili and cornbread for a chili feed.

White Chicken Chili 

§  1 - 2 lb cooked chicken, cubed (I either poach chicken breasts in chicken broth and then use the broth when called for in the recipe, or buy a rotisserie chicken)

§  1 T oil

§  1 onion

§  3 cans white beans (2 great Northern, 1 garbanzo)

§  1 can Rotel, original

§  3 cloves minced garlic

§  1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies

§  2 t ground cumin

§  1 t oregano

§  ½ t cayenne (more or less to taste)

§  14 oz chicken broth

§  3 c shredded Jack cheese

§  1 8 oz carton sour cream

Cook onion and spices in oil until transparent. Combine all but last 2 ingredients in soup pan or crock pot. Cook for 1 hour. Add cheese and sour cream. Heat through.

Massaman Curry

It is the perfect recipe for ingredients from the CSA produce this week: new potatoes, onions, Thai basil. I recommend getting the curry paste in the tubs (photo below). You can buy it in small cans, but these are extremely spicy. Massaman curry is less spicy than red curry. It has all the traditional ingredients in the paste such as red chilis, lemongrass, galangal, garlic and shrimp paste, but adds the flavors of coriander seed, cumin, cardamom, mace, and cinnamon.

Massaman Curry
2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 lb potatoes, 1/2" cubes
1 lg onion, 1/2" pieces
4 lg carrots, 1/2" pieces
1 can thick coconut milk
1 can light coconut milk
1/4 -1/3 c massaman curry paste
3 T sugar (palm, if you have it; brown is also nice)
1 T tamarind paste (optional)
2 T fish sauce
1 c peanuts (reserve a few for garnish)
thai basil (optional)


Add 4 T of coconut cream to a large wok over medium high heat. Add the curry paste and cook until fragrant. Add more of the thick part of the coconut milk and the chicken. Stir fry a few minutes. Add the remainder of the can, the can of light coconut milk, and the veggies. Stir to coat and bring to a boil. Turn down to simmer until potatoes are done, about 5 minutes. Stir in peanuts, sugar, fish sauce, and tamarind paste and cook a few minutes more. Sprinkle basil over the top and a few reserved peanuts.

Serve with rice.

Serves 10 (extra curry freezes well)