It's Easy...and It's What's For Dinner

The easiest meals to prep and cook always tend to be my most favorite.  Don't get me wrong.  I love to put a little elbow grease into my meals when I have extra time...the juice is almost always worth the squeeze when a few extra ingredients and a little extra time is required.  But on nights when the kids have basketball practice until 7 and I still want to get something hearty and and homemade on the table before bedtime at 8, easy to prep and cook wins every time.  

This meal right here couldn't be easier.  Minimal prep time is involved which is always a bonus.  In all honesty, I found this recipe and thought is might be a little bland so I'd have to tweak it and add a few things here and there, but I was SO very wrong.  I could eat pasta every night of the week, but Mr. Spouse has never been a huge fan. Not only did he rave about the meal as he was eating, but he took it to work for leftovers the next day and that says A LOT because that sweet man is not a leftover kinda guy (saves more for me!! ;))  

CHICKEN FAJITA PASTA

via Mommy On Demand

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cubed or sliced)

2 TBSP. Olive oil

1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced

1 orange bell pepper, sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, sliced

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 box (1lb.) penne pasta

2 TBSP. Chicken Fajita Seasoning

1/2 C. + 2 TBSP. heavy whipping cream

First thing's first.  Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, and return to pot.  Set aside.

Next up slice your onion, bell peppers, and chicken.    As you can see, mine came out more like thinly cut cubes.  It won't affect the flavor, so cut 'em how you want 'em.

Now add two tablespoons of olive oil to a large pan and heat on medium/high heat.  Add in chicken and stir to coat in oil.  Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the fajita seasoning into the pan and stir to coat again.  Cook for about 6-7 minutes or until chicken is pretty much cooked through.

This is my personal favorite fajita seasoning.  There may be better out there, but this one is always available in my area and I love the flavor it adds, so this is the one I like using :) 

Once the chicken is cooked through, toss in the onion and bell peppers.  Stir to combine and reduce the heat to medium.  Cover with a lid and heat through until the onion and bell peppers are soft.  Keep an eye on the chicken mixture and stir as often as needed to prevent sticking to the pan.  I probably let mine simmer for about 10 minutes or so.  

Once the onions and bell peppers are soft, add in the heavy cream, cooked pasta,  and the remaining tablespoon of fajita seasoning.  Stir to combine and cook on low until the cream is heated through.  

 This would be excellent topped with a Mexican cheese blend, but we used shredded parmesan and it was amazing!  Pico, avocado, and/or cilantro would be great toppings, too!!!  But honestly, this dish truly stands on it's own as is!!!  Nothing extra needed!!

Seriously though...how easy was that?!?!?!  Total prep time was maybe 10ish minutes or so?!  Not too shabby!!!  Like I said earlier, I really thought I'd have to add something extra to give it more flavor, but I couldn't have been more wrong.  It was seriously perfection just the way it was!! And the fact that Mr. Spouse ate it for leftovers spoke volumes.  This will be appearing on our dinner table a lot more often!!!  I love finding new recipes that aren't just easy, but delicious as well!!!  YUM!