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Tuesday, September 25, 2012

quick and easy - the bbq chicken pasta edition

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bbq chicken pasta bowl

The tiniest person in my house turned six months old today.  It's crazy to think how quickly time flies.  While I write this, she is happily bouncing up and down in her Jolly Jumper, watching me type and giggling away.  Have you seen those things?  I want one.

But I digress.

Last night, I was going out for Indian food with a few friends, and so I wanted something quick and easy to make for hubs and Little Z.  I also wanted it to make copious amounts of leftovers, so we'd all have something for lunch today too.

I was flipping through books/websites, and then I decided that I'd create a sort of BBQ chicken pasta dish.  Kind of along the idea of a bbq chicken pizza, except in pasta form.  I'd say it was pretty successful, and hit all the right notes (as in, easy, fast, made a lot), but the one thing that was missing was smokiness, and I think that's because I didn't use the most appropriate kind of bbq sauce.  I just used a chicken&rib sauce thta had a lot of sweetness, but none of the smokey/hickory flavour that was needed.  So if you make this, be sure to use a smokey bbq sauce, and you won't regret it.

bbq black bean & chicken pasta bowl
bbq chicken pasta bowl

1 T olive oil
1 lb chicken breast, diced
(montreal steak spice)
1 onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn (or fresh or canned)
1 T chili powder
1 can spaghetti sauce (use a fairly plain sauce)
3/4 c bbq sauce (I suggest a smokey one --> look for hickory or mesquite)
1 box of pasta (I used penne; I think wagon wheels would be so cute for this dish though)

Garnish:
grated cheddar
minced cilantro

1. Heat large pasta pot full of water.

bbq chicken pasta bowl

2. While water is heating, in a large, deep skillet, sauté chicken in olive oil over medium heat, until cooked through, sprinkle with a bit of montreal steak spice, if you have it).  Remove chicken from skillet.

bbq chicken pasta bowl

3. To skillet (don't bother to clean it), add a touch more olive oil, then add onion, red pepper, green pepper and garlic.  Saute until veggies are softened (about 5-6 mins).  Add black beans and corn.  Saute a couple more minutes, until corn is heated through.  Stir in chili powder.

bbq chicken pasta bowl

4. By this point, your pasta water is probably boiling.  Add about 1 T salt (optional), and then cook pasta according to directions.  Penne takes 11 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, add spaghetti sauce and bbq sauce to veggie mixture.  Stir.  Return chicken to skillet, stir and turn heat down to low and let simmer while pasta cooks (otherwise you will have exploding tomato sauce all over your stove).

6. Drain pasta, but do not rinse.  Return pasta to pasta pot.  Dump skillet contents in.  Combine.

7. Serve, topped with cheddar and cilantro.

Easy-peasy and pretty delicious.  But like I said, go for a smokey bbq sauce!

bbq chicken pasta bowl

3 comments:

Unknown said...

This sounds so good, I'll have to give it a try! I love the photos, those are great shots. So vibrant!

Kim said...

yay I am loving your new posts! Congrats on your new little girl!

BBQ Restaurants said...

Ummnn,, It looks really amazing and delicious. I like your recipe and also presentation of the dish.

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