Recipe of the Moment: Chicken Enchilada Pasta

Okay. Remember when I made the red enchilada sauce and the green enchilada sauce? 

This is it. This is what you've been waiting for. Because I am not kidding when I tell you that this is the most amazing pasta I've ever created. And I've made a lot of pasta.

This post was garnering some attention on Pinterest as one of the best recipes to try. I tend to take recommendations over there lightly since many people tend to eat a lot of processed foods, but I pinned it and made a mental note to try it out.

And I am not sorry I did! You won't be sorry either, unless, for some reason, you hate food and/or flavors exploding in your mouth.

EDIT: I've made this many times, and I have a few notes. The first is that if you want to be healthier and use quinoa instead of pasta, it tastes just as delicious.

The second thing is that, obviously, when you make your sauces (links below) it tastes ridiculously better. I was feeling lazy last week, and I bought sauce at the store. Words cannot express to you how disappointed I was. Though obviously, if you're crunched for time, store sauce it must be! And it's still pretty good. :-)

Ingredients

3-5 chicken breasts, filleted and chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1-2 green jalapeno peppers, diced

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp cumin

10 oz green enchilada sauce

2/3 cup red enchilada sauce

2 cups shredded cheese (I used cheddar and Monterrey jack)

1 cup yogurt (or sour cream)

penne pasta

olive oil

1 avocado

green onions

Preparation

Fillet, chop, and cook chicken. Drain.

Boil water and cook pasta. Drain.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook onion for 3-5 minutes, or until lightly brown.

Add garlic and red pepper and cook for 3-5 minutes.

Add cooked chicken, green peppers, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and enchilada sauces. Let sauce simmer for 10 minutes.

Add cheese and mix until cheese is melted.

Add yogurt and stir, but make sure heat is low enough that it will not boil.

Pour the sauce over pasta and mix well. 

Garnish with avocado and green onions. Enjoy!

Recipe of the Moment: Red Enchilada Sauce

I don't know about you, but when I want to make a Mexican dish, I'm always a little intimidated. I'm not talking strictly tacos because, actually, I hate making tacos. Something about the number of dishes you have to put out (and then clean up) always put me off. Heartier dishes I'm happy to make though. 

I normally grab a can or two of red enchilada sauce or green enchilada sauce, but then I decided to try it after looking over the recipe. Why not? You know, other than the general fear that you spend hours making a sauce and then suddenly it's all gone and you have nothing left to show for your labor?

Well, let me assure you, that is not the case with this! I made red sauce and green sauce (to be posted soon!) in under an hour (you could probably make it in half an hour if you're really dedicated) and there was plenty leftover. So much so that I was afraid it was going to go bad, though luckily it's incredibly versatile.

So really, you have no reason not to!

Ingredients

2 cloves of garlic

2 tsp minced onion (since I was making green sauce at the same time, I just threw 2 tsps from that onion in here)

1/2 tsp dried oregano

2 tsps cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cumin

1 tsp dried parsley

1/4 cup bruschetta (if you have some handy)

3 tomatoes

1.5 cups water

olive oil

Preparation

Red sauce doesn't like being photographed. Just so you know.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.

Add the onion and garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT the water. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Add water.

Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 15-25 minutes. The longer you let it simmer, the more the flavors blend together.

Enjoy!