Thursday, October 1, 2015

Bacon Ranch Chicken Pasta

I was going to bring down a pot of chili and some cornbread for my Friday night special this week. But my ankle is throbbing tonight and I need something I can throw together FAST, so:

Bacon Ranch Chicken Pasta


Ingredients:
1 (12 ounce) box penne or spiral pasta
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
1-1/2 cups cream or half and half
1 cup chicken broth
½ package ranch salad dressing and seasoning mix
½ cup parmesan, shredded
2 cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts, shredded - I'm grabbing pre-cooked
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled - again, pre-cooked!!
1 (12 ounce) package frozen peas, thawed
½ teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
1 cup shredded Mozzarella

Procedure:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Spray 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse and drain. Set aside.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add minced garlic and crushed red pepper, if desired. Add the flour and stir in with the butter.  Let is bubble for a minute, stirring.

Whisk in the cream and chicken broth and continue stirring until thickened. 

Stir in half a package of the ranch salad dressing and seasoning mix. 

Remove from heat and stir in parmesan cheese.

Place pasta in bottom of 9x13 baking dish. Top with chicken, bacon, and peas. 

Pour sauce over the top. 

Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top.

Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.

File this under : 
"I'm Not Lazy but When my Ankle Hurts and I Can't Stand in One Place for Long, Make This"


From Flavor Mosaic

3 comments:

  1. This got a 5+ from Carlene tonight. Maybe it was the fact I slid some lima beans in there, too!!!

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  2. Made this dish, just changed a few things. Used broccoli instead of peas. Added some sliced fresh mushrooms (and in the spirit of speed, used the microwave to cook them). Instead of a 9 x 13 pan, used 3- 5 x 7 pans, so I could freeze 2 of them. It was delicious, Karen!
    Karen Barden (beepipes-tn on Explore. org

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  3. Broc and shrooms sounds really good - next time I'll try that (although C is not big on broccoli, so I'll be doing that at home.) I need to remember to buy some foil little loaf pans - that's an excellent idea! Thanks!

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