Cajun Chicken Pasta

I am going to Iceland in a month.  A couple of friends and I started thinking about a trip to Iceland a few months ago.  It's amazing it's only a month away.

I never planned on vacationing to Iceland.  I have a list of places I want to travel, and Iceland was not on that list.  I decided to go because of very convincing advertising for cheap airplane tickets. 

I met with my travel companions today, and I'm getting excited to visit a list of unpronounceable but beautiful sites.  From the pictures, it seems the country is full of majestic, natural scenes.  

A friend moved recently.  Her new neighborhood has a well rated restaurant that she and I went to shortly after her move.  I ate a cajun pasta dish that was fantastic.  I decided I would try and recreate it at home.

I merged two recipes and made additional tweaks to make this dish.  One recipe came from food.com.  The second recipe came from the Pioneer Woman.

The ingredients are 2 whole chicken breasts, 4 teaspoons cajun spice mix, 1 pound pasta, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 green bell pepper, 1 red bell pepper, 8 ounces baby mushrooms, 1 tablespoon onion powder, 3 cloves garlic, 2 large tomatoes, 2 chicken bullion cubes, 2 cups heavy cream, pepper, salt, and 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese.

I heated a skillet over high heat and added one tablespoon of butter and one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.

I cubed the chicken and sprinkled the chicken with one and a half teaspoons of cajun seasoning.

I browned half of the chicken in the olive oil and butter.  I flipped the chicken after a minute and cooked the other side for another minute.  

While browning the chicken, I cooked the pasta according to the package's instructions.

I removed the cooked chicken from the skillet.  I added the remaining olive oil and butter.  When it was hot, I added the peppers, onions, garlic, and mushrooms

I added about 2 and a half teaspoons of cajun spice blend and the onion powder to the vegetables.  I cooked the vegetables for a minute on high heat.  I stirred regularly.  

I added the chopped tomatoes and cooked for another minute.

I added the cream and chicken bullion cubes.  I cooked this mixture for about four or five minutes to thicken the cream sauce.

I added the chicken cubes and pasta.

I stirred the ingredients together.

I added the grated parmesan cheese and stirred.  I removed the skillet from the heat, and it was ready.

This was a decadent, creamy, and flavorful dish.

It was spicy and rich.  The chicken was still tender, the sauce smooth and luscious, and the vegetables tender but not mushy.

It was comforting and filling.  It isn't a health food, but it was worth the calories.  You have to live a little every once in a while.  This dish was one of the best things I have made in a while.  Delicious!