Cajun Chicken Pasta

Make a delicious and easy dish for your family-Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken. This dish is simple to follow and will leave your taste buds wanting more. The chicken is baked in a sweet and sour sauce, made with pineapple juice, brown sugar, ketchup, and soy sauce. Serve this dish over steamed rice for a complete meal! 

What is Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken: 

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken is a dish that is made with chicken that is baked in a sweet and sour sauce. The sauce is made with pineapple juice, brown sugar, ketchup, and soy sauce. The dish can be served over steamed rice for a complete meal.

Tips for cooking/serving this dish:

When cooking the dish, be sure to not overfill your baking dish as it can cause the chicken to not cook evenly. Additionally, you can serve this dish with steamed vegetables or a salad for a complete meal.

Ingredients needed to make the dish:

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1″ pieces)
• 2 tbsp butter (softened)
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
• 16 oz fettuccine pasta (cooked according to package directions, al dente ) *you can also use capellini
• 3 tbsp flour (all-purpose)
• 8 oz cream cheese (low-fat, softened)
• 1 cup milk (low-fat) *if you can find it.. use the low-fat version of the evaporated milk. If not regular is fine too! 1/2 cup isn’t bad at all.
• 2 tbsp cajun seasoning *I like McCormick Grill Mates. You can also make your own if you want to!
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese (freshly grated)

How to cook the dish:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Add chicken pieces to a large ziplock bag. Add cajun seasoning, salt, and pepper. Shake to coat the chicken well with seasonings. Set aside for now.
3. In a small mixing bowl add softened butter, flour, cream cheese, and milk. With an electric mixer, beat until combined into a smooth sauce/paste-like consistency.
4. Add chicken pieces to the prepared baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes until cooked through. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving. If there are extra juices in the pan drizzle them over the baked chicken before serving!
5. In a large pot, add pasta with 1/2 cup of water (reserve the rest for later), salt, and a dash of olive oil. Bring to a boil, cover with the lid and turn the heat down to low. Let the pasta cook for 10-12 minutes until al dente. Drain water.
6. In your large pot, add chicken, cooked pasta, and sauce/paste over medium-high heat stirring often so the sauce doesn’t burn. Add in onion and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper (to taste) and the rest of the water (reserved). Let simmer for about 5 minutes until the sauce thickens a bit. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve!

Enjoy! Makes 4-6 servings.

Notes: 

If you prefer, you can cook/bake the chicken in a skillet instead of baking it in the oven. I find browning it first on high heat adds more flavor to the dish, but I know some people don’t like this step so you can skip it if you want. Also served with parmesan cheese over top both times! YUM

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