Friday, January 22, 2010

Cheesecake Factory's Louisiana Chicken Pasta

YUM! Made this last night (From RecipeZaar), and it is a GREAT imitation of my favorite dish at Cheesecake Factory (this is one of those meals that I can't help but re-order each time I go because I know it's just so good and don't want to risk having a so-so meal when I can eat this awesome flavorful meal!).


Sauce Ingredients:
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 small yellow pepper (chopped)
  • 1 small red bell pepper (chopped)
  • 3/4 small onion (chopped)
  • 3 whole garlic cloves (minced)
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 1/4 pints whipping cream
  • 1 cup chicken broth (used 1 c. water + 1 chicken boullion cube)
  • 4 tablespoons fresh basil (thinly sliced)
  • 1 cup grated parmesan cheese (I used 1/4 c. since it's expensive here)
  • 1 (12 ounce) package bow tie pasta (I used penne)
  • 1 cup mushroom (sliced) (optional)

Directions

  1. Start your water boiling as you start making the sauce... and cook pasta like normal.
  2. At the same time, let your breaded chicken breasts (thin-cut if possible to be most authentic) cook in the oven until crispy.
  3. On stovetop, for sauce: melt butter in large skillet over medium heat.
  4. Add yellow and red bell peppers, mushrooms if desired, and onion to same skillet,until crisp-tender, about 4 minute.
  5. Add garlic and crushed red pepper to skillet and saute 3 minutes.
  6. Add whipping cream and chicken stock.
  7. Simmer until sauce re-heats and thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.
  8. Add basil and 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese to sauce, stirring to incorporate.
  9. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low, simmer; sauce will reduce and thicken.
  10. Serve pasta generously covered with sauce and peppers, place thin-cut breaded chicken on top and eat! DELICIOUS!

*** Note: If you want to make your own chicken breasts to use for this recipe, there are instructions in the recipe linked, or you can see my recipe here and bread with parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs with whatever spices you desire.

2 comments:

Jennifer said...

I noticed you had this listed in your "freezer stash" - how well does it freeze with the whipping cream in it or do you not take the recipe that far before freezing and add the cream later? Just curious.......... looks wonderful. My husband LOVES chicken and pasta with sauce so I am going to try this one out soon.

Jess Connell said...

Funny you should ask today-- we just ate it for the first time today. :) Good timing. The sauce was great from the frozen state- the only thing that was different was that when it's made fresh, the peppers & onions still have a slight crispness to them... or rather, you can tell that they're there, texture-wise. Heated up from the frozen state, if you didn't see them, you wouldn't be able to distinguish between the thick softness of the sauce and the thick softness of the peppers/onions. Hope that makes sense, but that was the only difference I noticed farom the freezing process.

Hope you enjoy the recipe- it's a favorite of ours!
~Jess