Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Pasta with Chicken & Pepperoni


As there are only the two of us, cooking usually means leftovers for an additional two or three meals. I like leftovers and sometimes will eat the previous night's dinner for the next morning's breakfast, but after the second meal I am searching for ideas for a "new" and tasty meal. That's what happened after I made the Chicken Marsala: we had an abundance of noodles and chicken.

I went back to my Chicken Recipes Step by Step cookbook and found this. Sweetie-Pi and I have had this once before and we enjoyed it, and it certainly worked very well in giving new life to our leftovers.

The measurements are in metric, but because this is cooking and not baking, I didn't bother to recalculate the math. I just eyeballed what I thought would be enough pasta and pepperoni, but followed the sauce recipe exactly, because of the balance of flavors.

Pasta with Chicken & Pepperoni
Chicken Recipes Step by Step
The Confident Cooking Promise of Success

1/2 barbecued chicken (from the deli, your own, or in my case, plain, pan fried chicken)
500 grams rotini (1 pound)
50 grams pepperoni (about 2 ounces or less than 1/4 cup)
1 medium green pepper, sliced in thin strips
1 tablespoon oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup chicken stock
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons cream
Salt and pepper

Cut chicken into strips, set aside.

Heat water for pasta and cook according to package directions.

In a large fry pan, heat the oil and add the pepperoni, onion and green pepper. Cook over medium heat for 2 minutes or until the vegetables are crisp tender.

Stir in the all remaining ingredients, except chicken, and simmer gently for two minutes.

Add chicken and heat through, stirring the mixture occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place the pasta in a large serving bowl and pour the chicken and sauce over. Stir to combine.

Serve immediately.

When I made this, I had two boneless, skinless chicken thighs remaining, which I cut up. I sliced up about a dozen of those pepperonis used for pizza topping. I had leftover pasta from the night before so I did what a lot of restaurants do: I just boiled a pot of water, turned off the heat, threw my pasta in for a couple of minutes to heat it through and drained.

This dish doesn't have what I'd describe as a big flavor (probably partly because I didn't use barbecued chicken). The strongest flavor was the pepperoni, which gave it a nice spicy flavor that wasn't bold. For a family that fluffs their meal out with a salad and bread, the sauce would probably cover enough pasta to serve four people, but the pasta will not be swimming in sauce.

This is not the best meal I have ever eaten, however, it is far from the worst. I will turn to this recipe again and again because of its simplicity, good flavor, and quick preparation.

16 comments:

  1. You know, sometimes we need just plain simple fare. I know I know...is hard when one loves to experiment and all..grin! But this looks good...and by the way..the photo is really good on this post Katy dear.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was planning to make your chicken marsala, so I appreciate the idea for what to do with leftovers! I don't mind leftovers, but my husband won't touch them... this would keep me from getting too tired of what is left!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Trish, you make me aspire to be better than I am.

    Ah, Delectable, the leftover dilemma vexes us all, I think. It might be worth cooking a little chicken separately from the Marsala just to be able to give it a little BBQ flavor. I might try that next time...hmmmm....

    ReplyDelete
  4. This really does look so good! Just the kind of recipe to have in the rotation. Thanks for putting it up.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have recipes I go back to just for the ease and because they are good...if not my favorite. This sounds yummy to me, love the chix-pepp combo...I will save it and probably try it one of these days :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. try not to have leftovers cause nobody here likes them! You recipe looks good Katy, your batting a thousand here!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I need to get more inventive with trying to reinvent my leftovers too. This looks quite tasty.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great use for leftovers. This dish sounds fantastic, Katy!

    ReplyDelete
  9. This looks and sounds incredible Katy. I love pepperoni in my pasta!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Katy, Such a nice looking and tasty dish. Thanks for showing us another way to use chicken that is fairly simple without tons of steps to it!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I thnk this sounds fantastic! I love the pepperoni!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love it when something new can be made from leftovers!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Just found your blog and love all your great recipes. I am going to recommend it to my daughter who is getting married--I love that your instructions are simple! I'll be back!

    ReplyDelete
  14. This looks like a very comforting dish and easy too.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Susan, thank you so much for stopping by and leaving such a nice compliment! You and your daughter are welcomed here and I hope you come back to visit often.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Mmm, this pasta dish looks absolutely fabulous! I love all the wonderful protein you get from the chicken and all of the wonderful flavor you get from the pepperoni. Delish!

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.