Chicken Enchilada Pasta

Oh yes. Mexican food mixed with Italian (kinda). This was made to be a winner. And it makes enough for my husband and I to have for at least two meals, so it would easily feed 4-6 people, especially if some of them are kids. Yum.

I found this recipe on another blog I frequent-http://mykitchencafe.blogspot.com/ I love that blog. Has some really great recipes on it, including this one. I did, however, adapt her recipe to make it fit my standards of picky. Haha. I'll post the original for all you less picky eaters, and share my modifications.

For her original recipe go here: http://mykitchencafe.blogspot.com/2009/10/chicken-enchilada-pasta.html

Now for my modifications...

Ingredients:
2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed or shredded
1 table spoon of olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely minced (or garlic powder if you don't have fresh-about a teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 (10-oz) cans green chili enchilada sauce (I used mild)
2/3 cup red enchilada sauce (I used mild)
1 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheese (I used colby jack)
16-20 oz. penne pasta (Depending on how "saucy" you want the pasta)

Bring a big pot of water to a boil, and cook the pasta till tender. While the pasta is cooking, heat up some olive oil over medium heat in a REALLY big skillet. Saute the garlic for just a couple minutes. DON'T BURN IT. Burned garlic is one of the worst tastes ever. Trust me, I know from experience. If you're using powdered garlic, just add it to the sauce with the rest of the spices. When the garlic is cooked, add the cooked chicken, the enchilada sauces, and the spices (salt, chili powder, and cumin). Stir it all together and let it simmer for 8-10 minutes. It will look something like this (in my version):


Add the sour cream and cheese, and let it all heat up and melt together. This will make it a lot thicker. Don't allow the sauce to boil, though. It will look a little like this:


At this point, the sauce and the pasta are ready to get married. Once you drain the pasta, just mix the sauce with the pasta until every noodle has been covered in the yummy goodness of the sauce. Serve it, and garnish with a little sour cream and cheese, or whatever else you think would be good on top of this. It is wonderful.