Spicy Chicken Pasta
This Spicy Chicken Pasta is a simple dinner recipe that the whole family will enjoy!
You may have seen me mention before that I’m first generation Portuguese-American, I was born in America but my parents are from Portugal. I grew up within the tightly knit Portuguese community and there every event revolves around food. My mom would spend days in the kitchen getting ready for a party, making her Rissóis de Camarão (shrimp croquettes) and Filhos (Portuguese Doughnuts). I loved spending those days in the kitchen with her and now that I’m grown with my own daughter I am trying give her some of the same memories of cooking with mom.
Of course she’s still little so I don’t have to get too fancy with the recipes. The other day I grabbed some Barilla® Spaghetti on my weekly trip to Walmart and I found their recipe for Barilla® Spaghetti with Chicken & Spicy Tomato Sauce. It was simple enough that I had time to let Harper hang out with me in the kitchen while I chopped up chicken and jalapeno pepper (she didn’t get to help with that!) and I let her tear up the fresh oregano.
The oregano and jalapeno went in the hot pan first and then I added the cubed chicken. Once it was browned I added white wine and let it reduce by about half while I added my Barilla® Spaghetti to a pot of boiling water. When the white wine had reduced I added crushed tomatoes, water and salt and brought the whole thing to a boil. When the noodles were done I drained them and put them in the sauce.
Harper helped me finish everything off with some Cotija cheese (you can substitute Feta cheese if you can’t find Cotija). It was such a simple thing but it brought back so many memories of spending the day in the kitchen with my mom, learning how to make all of her recipes, and just learning to love cooking.
The pasta was delicious! Not too spicy, with the crumbly Cojita cheese adding a little tang to the sauce. The whole family loved it and Harper made sure Daddy knew that she helped Mommy make it.
I enjoyed the day so much that when I talked to my mom that night I told her I wanted to have a Mother-Daughter cooking day on Mother’s Day. She is going to come over and we are going to cook some of our favorite Portuguese dishes. Three generations of Portuguese women cooking up a storm…it’s going to be fun!
Spicy Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 box Barilla® Spaghetti
- 4 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Oregano, leaves only
- 1 Jalapeno Pepper, or to taste
- 1/2 c White Wine, dry
- 2 lbs Plum Tomatoes, crushed
- Salt to Taste
- 1/2 c Cojita Cheese
Instructions
- Place a pot of water to boil.
- In a skillet brown the chicken thighs with 1/2 the olive oil and add the jalapenos and oregano.
- After 1 minute add white wine and reduce by half.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and one cup of water and season with salt, and bring to a boil.
- Meanwhile cook the pasta according to directions and toss with sauce.
- Stir in remaining olive oil and Cojita cheese before serving.
- Garnish with oregano.
