I don’t have a whole lot going on in my life besides being home with my children and trying not to go crazy. Instead of cleaning and doing productive things with my time, I have started randomly trying recipes that I find on Pinterest.

Some have turned out pretty tasty, and some have turned out less than exciting.  That’s the magic of Pinterest.

I DID try one that I just wasn’t so sure about, but still felt like giving it a whirl (Because, remember…I have not a whole lot going on in my life).  Someone pinned this recipe for Chicken Enchilada Pasta from a blog post from a year ago. A year ago! Who has time to go search blogs for recipes from years ago? Well…I do.

Anyway, If you like the taste of chicken enchiladas AND pasta, I suggest you try this recipe. It’s not as odd as it may seem. And, truth be told, we have eaten this for dinner 3 nights in a row.

Here is the recipe:

CHICKEN ENCHILADA PASTA

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced (I don’t know how to mince garlic cloves, but I only did 1 clove and added some garlic powder)

1 medium onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced (I forgot to pick one up, but the pasta was still really tasty without a red pepper)

1 – 4 oz. can diced green chiles

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

20 oz.  green chili enchilada sauce (Be sure to look at how hot the sauce is. If you accidentally get the ‘picante’ one, you might make your face sweat. With happiness.)

2/3 cups red enchilada sauce

2 cups shredded cheese

1 cup sour cream

Penne pasta

DIRECTIONS:

Cook chicken, drain, and shred.  Meanwhile boil pasta according to package and chop the veggies. Chopping onions is no fun. My husband claims that keeping a piece of bread in your mouth while you chop onions helps reduce the eye-stinging.

Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet and cook onions for about 3-5 minutes.  Add garlic & red pepper and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

Add cooked chicken, green chiles, cumin, chili powder, salt, & enchilada sauces.  Let sauce simmer for about 8-10 minutes.

Add cheese and stir until the cheese is melted and heated through.  Now toss in the sour cream. DO NOT bring to a boil.  Cook on low heat or the sour cream will curdle.  Stir until sour cream is well mixed and heated through.

Drain pasta & return to pot.  Pour sauce over pasta and mix well.  Serve and garnish with desirable items such as shredded cheese, avocado, tomato, black olives, green onion, a slab of sour cream, or anything you find desirable.

Let me know if you try this recipe. We love it over here. Well, the kids won’t eat it due to the accidental purchase of the hot enchilada sauce, but everyone else that eats human food here loves it.