"Cajun" Chicken Pasta

Tonight I decided to make "Cajun" Chicken Pasta. I use the term "Cajun" loosely. A true Cajun would laugh this recipe out of the park :) But it's closer to Cajun than any other style so Cajun it is! This recipe is one I developed based off of two other recipes; one an Alfredo sauce wanna-be that, in spite, of not being true Alfredo is easy and yummy, and the second a recipe that was originally made with catfish....I'm not sure what made me put it together like this, but it worked!
(The amounts below are for two servings)

Oh yes, and music is a huge part of why cooking is such fun for me. Tonight's playlist was: Two Princes, Spin Doctors; One Week, Barenakedladies; Closing Time, Super Sonic; Stacy's Mom, Fountains of Wayne; Oly Wanna Be With you, Hootie and the Blowfish; Bright Lights, Matchbox 20; Island in the Sun, Weezer; Everybody, Ingrid Michaelson; Almost, Bowling for Soup; Saltwater room, Owl City. Thank You Pandora.com! (Find this at station: Fireflies )


Cajun Chicken:
1 Chicken Breast
3-4 Tbs. Cooking Oil
Lemon Pepper
Paprika
Ground Black Pepper
Salt
Cayenne Pepper
Garlic (Granulated or Powdered)

Pasta Sauce:
1 Package Cream Cheese
Parmesan Cheese**Optional
4 Tbs. Butter
3/4 Cup of Milk
Lemon Pepper
Garlic
Salt

The first thing we want to do is get some of the oil heating up. ( Oops, FIRST thing is to pre-heat the oven to 350) I use my big cast Iron skillet, but any pan will work. I'd guess this is about3-4 Tablespoons of oil. I'm only making one chicken breast so I don't need a whole lot but if you're making a larger amount you'll have to use more. Turn the heat up pretty good- we're going to blacken that chicken!



I don't measure this because it just isn't that crucial (plus I hate measuring). We have a good amount of Paprika, then right below it is the Lemon Pepper, to the right is Granulated garlic, the bottom spice is Pepper, and over to the left is the salt. There's also some Cayenne in there, 2 good dashes (use more if you want it hot!)

Mix it up good!

Next take your chicken and lay it down in the spice bed. Make sure you have a nice thick layer/crust of spices because that's the part that we want to blacken, not the chicken it's self....that isn't blackening, it's just plain burning it!

Now your oil should be hot hot hot! You'll want to make sure you don't leave the chicken in too long, you want to blacken the spices but not the chicken.

Here's a pic that will kind of show the 'Blackening'.



All right, here's the part that may make you laugh at me, but just try it, it's really good! Take some Italian Dressing... (I use this brand because it doesn't have High Fructose Corn Syrup in it)

And douse the chicken in it!!
For one chicken breast I use about 1/4 of the bottle, then pop it in your preheated oven for 30 minutes!

Now, while the chicken cooks we'll make our pasta sauce. Melt your butter and cream cheese together. Don't be frustrated when they won't combine well, it will come together in the next few steps

Once your butter and cream cheese are melted together add the milk (you can totally use 1/2 and 1/2 for this, but i don't) and let it come to a very gentle simmer. Make sure you stir this pretty constantly for now, you don't want it to burn cuz then it's a pain to wash the pot later!

Once you bring it slowly up to a simmer you can add the cheese. I use a romano/parm blend because it melts together really well. Plain old parm really doesn't melt much. Too tell you the truth , if I only had...say, Kraft Parm in the fridge I would just skip the cheese. Chances are it will just sit in the sauce and be grainy. But if you have a really high quality one that will melt then go for it! As you can see I just use about a handful.

Now I add some light seasonings. Don't go too heavy here since the chicken has a lot of seasonings. I use some Lemon Pepper and Garlic.

I put the sauce in a bowl in the microwave to keep it warm without it drying out too much on top.

Yum! My pans may be ugly but the chicken is sure good-looking, am I right?

Take the chicken out of the drippings and slice it up however thick you want it...

And enjoy!!