Chicken Fajita Pasta

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With all the Christmas preparations quick and easy suppers have been the order of the day here in my kitchen.  The other night we had egg and chips (yes again) and last night we had this lovely Chicken Fajita Pasta, which was not only really quickly put together, but quite, quite delicious! 

It goes together really quickly and is easily adaptable for only two people.  I cut it in half last night and it worked very well! 

It embodies all the flavour of delicious Chicken Fajitas!  Oh, I do so love Fajitas!  When we lived in London, Ontario, every now and then we would treat ourselves to a meal out at Chi Chi’s.  I always had trouble choosing between the Fajitas and the Chimichungas!

They Fajitas would come to the table sizzling in a hot black iron skillet with plenty of warm soft tortillas to wrap around that lovely filling, and of course the usual accompaniments.  This was back in my drinking days so we would also have the added treat of a margarita and if we were still hungry (and lets face it I had a much larger appetite in my younger years) a scoop of fried ice cream for dessert!

I could never eat that much now.  I made only half of this recipe and there were leftovers that I am going to enjoy for lunch today!  And, I am betting they will taste even better for having stood over night.

I like to make my own Fajita seasoning.  First of all, its not that difficult to make, secondly I always have the things in the house to make it, and thirdly, I know what is in it.  There are no chemicals or preservatives.  But by all means, after that  . . . if you still want to, you can feel free to use a mix.

I always have things like peppers and onions in the house, and chicken breasts individually frozen in the freezer.  It doesn’t take any time to thaw out the chicken in the microave and slice it up, and the peppers and onions don’t take much work slicing either!

I use whole wheat pasta because it is more GI friendly, and a bit healthier.  I personally like it better than plain pasta, but feel free to use the equivalent in regular spaghetti noodles if you want.

This cooks in a flash and is oh so tasty!  I used a mix of orange and white cheddars so sprinkle on top for added colour and interest.

I suppose you could add some garnishes if you wanted to . . .  perhaps a spoon of sour cream or some guacamole, maybe some salsa . . .  but to my mind, this was perfect just as it was.

The pasta hater was not totally thrilled of course, but he hate ate it, lol.  He didn’t complain too much.  He is always saying how lucky he is to have married such a good cook.

Lets face it, I do spoil him more often than not, so the disappointment of  having a pasta dish every now and then, (which pleases me to no end) is worth it in the long run.  He win’s more than he loses!

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Mix all of the Fajita seasoning ingredients together in a small bowl.  Set aside. Put a pot of lightly salted water on to boil for the spaghetti. 

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken is cooked through.  Sprinkle with the fajita seasoning mix and add the water, Stir well together.  Add the peppers and onions, and cook until they begin to soften.  

In the meantime, cook the spaghetti in the boiling salted water, according to the package directions, just until al dente.  Once cooked, drain the spaghetti, reserving a bit of the pasta water.  Stir the cooked pasta into the chicken mixture, along with about 2 TBS or so of the cooking water, or as needed to keep it from being too thick.  Season to taste with salt and black pepper.  Sprinkle with the cheese.  Cover and let stand to melt the cheese.  Serve hot. 

Only 3 days to go!  I still have my feather squares to make, shortbreads, my meat pies (tortiere) and some more mince pies and of course a few other odds and sodds!  We are having a turkey breast this year with all the fixings, but we have both decided we are having mashed potatoes instead of roasties.  Because, to be honest, we like mash better than roasties, and . . . with nobody else around to please, why not please ourselves first!  Bon Appetit! 

PS – this is also a great way to make a little bit of chicken stretch a really long way!