Cajun Chicken Pasta

Sunday night, I was seriously craving comfort food – specifically something filled with cheese and pasta.  Yum.  But, lots of cheese and pasta means no Oreos to cap off my nights, and let’s be honest – that’s not an option.  So, I set about finding a happy medium.  The result: a super flexible, mix-to-your-macros cajun chicken pasta.  The meal is made of three main components so you can pick the right amount of pasta and chicken to hit your macros each meal, or you could simplify the process by mixing it all together and portioning it out.

The Pasta
While you prepare the chicken and the mix, heat a pot of water to boiling, and cook penne pasta according to directions. For a higher protein option, use Ciao Carb penne or a mix of Ciao Carb and regular penne (cooked in separate pots due to different cooking times).

The Chicken
After seasoning generously with salt-free cajun seasoning, grill (or bake or saute – really up to you, but the char you get from grilling is fabulous) the chicken until cooked through.  Set aside.

The Mix
Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat.  Add cooking spray.  Saute a 1 container of baby bella mushrooms, 1/2 red bell pepper and 1/2 green bell pepper chopped, 3/4 medium sweet onion cut in slivers, and 3 cloves of garlic.  Once veggies have softened, add in a can of Rotel Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles.  Add in 1/2t cajun seasoning mix like Tony Chachere’s, 1/8t ground white pepper, and 1/8-1/4t cayenne pepper – pending how spicy you like it.

Simmer on low for 3-5 minutes before adding in 1/2c low sodium chicken broth, 1/4c plain nonfat greek yogurt, and 1/4 to 1/2c low fat whipped cottage cheese.  Simmer for an additional 5-15 minutes until flavors have melded.

Before serving, mix in 3/4c reduced fat mozzarella.

This recipe made about 4 servings of mix for me, to which I added 4oz of chicken and 1 serving of pasta for each meal.