I have been in a cooking rut lately. I seem to make the same 5 meals over and over again. One day I was on Pintrest and found a recipe for Spicy Chicken Rigatoni and decided to try it. It was seriously one of the best meals I have had in a while (including restaurants!). Here is the recipe. It is definitely not a healthy meal but I did change some things around to make it a little more figure friendly.

Spicy Chicken Rigatoni

Picture and Recipe from Tastebook

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/2 Tbs crushed red pepper ( I halved this)
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 Tbs chopped garlic
• 6 oz chicken, sliced
• 3/4 cup. Marinara sauce
• 1/2 cup Alfredo sauce ( I used Light Alfredo)
• 2 tsp butter ( I only used one)
• 1/4 cup peas ( I added a lot more peas)
• 1 lb Rigatoni pasta, cooked according to package directions
• additional 1/2 t crushed red pepper (for garnish) ( I omitted this I am not a fan of very spicy foods but J added some more and loved it)
• 1. In a sauté pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add crushed red pepper, salt, black pepper and garlic and sauté just long enough for garlic to caramelize and red pepper to release flavor into the oil. Add sliced chicken and sauté briefly to coat in spices and garlic.
• 2.  Add Marinara Sauce first and then Alfredo Sauce and bring to a simmer. Cook until sauce thickens slightly and chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165°. Turn off flame, add butter and peas and incorporate into sauce.
• 3. Toss pasta with the sauce. Place pasta and sauce in pasta bowl, reserving the majority of the chicken to be placed on top of the pasta. Using a rubber spatula, scrape any remaining sauce from the pan to the pasta. Garnish with crushed red pepper and serve.

P.S. Follow me on Pintrest http://pinterest.com/kataylorr/