A few weeks ago Jason’s mom gave me a cast iron pan that belonged to her great aunt. The pan was at least 40 years old and I couldn’t wait to make a complete dinner in it. I’ve never had a cast iron pan before and find it incredibly cool these pans can last for decades and I’m now using a pan older than me!

When I was trying to decide on a dinner for tonight I knew I’d pull out something I’ve been wanting to make in it: Pioneer Woman’s Cajun Chicken Pasta.

The recipe has in my bookmarks to make for ages and it sounded so delicious when it popped in mind.

I made a few changes to the recipe based on my personal preferences and what I had available in my kitchen so here’s my adapted version.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Adapted from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 1 whole boneless, sinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
• Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning (this stuff is so good!)
• 1/2 pound Fettuccine
• 5 strips bacon
• 1 whole orange bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• 4 whole mini sweet peppers, seeded and sliced
• 1 zucchini, cut and sliced
• 1/4 onion, sliced or diced
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup heavy cream

Directions

• Cook pasta based on package directions to al dente.
• Cook bacon in cast iron pan to ideal crispiness. Remove bacon and dry off with paper towels.
• Sprinkle and coat chicken with creole seasoning. Cook in pan in single layer with leftover drippings over high heat. Let chicken brown on one side and flip to the other side and allow to cook. Remove to plate.
• Cover vegetables with a layer of creole seasoning and toss. (You might need to add olive oil or butter here but I didn’t.) Add veggies to the pan and cook on high heat. Stir and cook for a two minutes then remove when cooked soft.
• Pour wine and water into pan on high heat. Stir and get drippings off the bottom of pan and let it cook for 5 minutes.
• Reduce heat to medium and pour in heavy cream while stirring.  Add a sprinkling of Tony Chachere’s and continue stirring for about 5 more minutes or until cream thickens it a bit.
• Add chicken and vegetables back to the pan with the sauce along with all juices from the plates. Stir it all together and let it mix for 2 minutes.
• Drain and shake fettucine and then add it to the pan too. Combine it all together!
• Serve!

Pioneer Woman adds parsley to the top and you could add any herb you like. Or parmesan cheese if you prefer and always eat it on pasta.

This ended up being just as amazing as I thought it would be! Spicy but rich with freshness from the vegetables.

I wouldn’t classify it as “healthy” with the bacon and cream, but I did try to add lots of veggies so my plate would be colorful and nutritious. This made multiple servings so I’m very happy to have leftovers of this delicious meal in my fridge waiting for me later in the week.

If you’ve haven’t tried cajun chicken pasta before, get on it!