Friday, May 14, 2010

Recipe: Green Chile Chicken Pasta


Green Chile Chicken Pasta

1 (16 ounce) package rigatoni noodles, cooked, drained
2 (16 ounce) jars Alfredo sauce
1 pound chicken breasts, cooked, shredded
2 (4 ounce) cans diced green chiles
2 (8 ounce) packages shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In 4 quart baking dish, arrange rigatoni noodles. Pour 1 jar Alfredo sauce over top.  Arrange chicken over sauce.  Pour remaining Alfredo sauce over chicken.  Sprinkle chiles over Alfredo sauce.  Sprinkle cheese over top.  Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until cheese is melted and lightly golden brown.  Makes 8 servings.

The green chiles give this recipe a unique flavor.  You get all the chile flavor without any of the chile heat.   If you are serving this to company and are in doubt about whether they like green chiles or not, just sprinkle them on half of the dish.

Recipe can be found on page 124 in 
MY KIND OF COOKING COOKBOOK


This is my most requested recipe.  Friends and family ask me to make it again and again.  I even received an email from England singing its praises and telling me it was their family's new favorite dish. 

People often ask how I come up with recipes.  One of the ways is to go to restaurants and figure out how they make the meal that I am eating.  Then go home and recreate it, using shortcuts to make it quicker, but without losing the flavor.  This is the first recipe I did that with.

My husband ordered this dish at a restaurant.  He liked it so much that he asked if I could make it at home.  I whipped out my notebook and began to make notes.  When I made it for the first time at home, my husband said it was better than the restaurants version.

Now when we go to restaurants, we make it a game to figure out what is in the dish and how we would remake it.  Our son has even joined the fun.  Next time you're out to eat with your family or friends, try it.  







35 comments:

  1. lovely homemade version of a restaurant recipe! u r so good at recreating a better version :)

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  2. ha, I love your restaurant game! :)

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  3. This looks SO good! I love green chiles. Awesome that hubs liked it BETTER than the restaurant! I'll make this for sure, thanks! Is there any certain brand of alfredo sauce you use?

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  4. Thanks Uma for such a nice complement!

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  5. Simple Life, it is amazing how many friends now call me to tell me what they ate and what they think was in it.

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  6. Thank you Debbi! I usually purchase Bertolli's pasta sauce. My sister uses whatever is on sale and gets great results.

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  7. Oh, this looks and sounds delicious. I have all the ingredients except the chicken and will be buying it when I go grocery shopping in a little while. Love all that mozzarella! I do the same thing at restaurants when there is something different we really enjoy. Now I'll have to start taking notes. ;)

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  8. Thanks Pam! I am glad I am not the only one playing with my food when I go to restaurants.

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  9. Sounds and looks wonderful! I love the flavor of green chiles!

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  10. Thanks David, I love green chiles too!

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  11. Thanks Sinful Southern Sweets! I love your profile photo.

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  12. wow does that ever look amazing!

    xo

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  13. Thanks Fashion Meets Food! It tastes even better than it looks!

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  14. I need to visit you all the time; I would learn how to make things in half the time! I have never used a jarred sauce or anything but now I am ready!

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  15. Thanks goodness it's Friday. I've waited all week for this post and am not disappointed! I have to eat it without the pasta, and thought it might be really good with some drained and rinsed back beans instead. I'm going to try it! Thanks.

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  16. Thanks Taste of Beirut! Every now and then everyone needs a quick recipe and shortcuts.

    Thank you Gnee! one of my favorite things about recipes is you can change them to fit you. Let me know how it is with black beans. My family loves black beans.

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  17. There is something about green chilies and even a cream sauce that go together. I made something similar last night, and I want it for breakfast, lol...yours looks and sounds amazing!

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  18. Wow, so simple but it sounds so wonderfully good. I love green chilies so this is right up my alley.

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  19. This sounds like a great dish! I love the idea of tex-mex pasta.

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  20. Chef E, I agree with you, green chile and a cream sauce are a great combination!

    Thanks Chris! Sometimes simple can surprise you.

    Thanks Bo! You can get some unexpected results when you mix things up.

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  21. This recipe sounds fabulous! Saving it up for later use. Thanks so much for sharing.
    Cheers, Kristy

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  22. Thanks Kristy! I think you will really enjoy this recipe.

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  23. Hi Linda! Just want you to know I made it and posted it today with my pics. I linked to your blog, credited and copied your recipe. I'm hoping it is OK with you; if not, please let me know and I can delete it. It is a delicious and a keeper! Thanks again! Pam




    I've made it and blogged it with my photo. I've also linked to your blog and copied and credited your recipe. I hope you don't mind.

    If you prefer me to remove, please let me know

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  24. OH, OH, OH. Husband would adore this. Gotta bookmark it!

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  25. Thanks Pam, for making and posting my recipe! I love your blog, so I am honored you posted it on your site.

    Thanks Abby! Let me know what he thinks of it when you make it.

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  26. This looks great. I found it on Pam's site. I'm definitely bookmarking it. I also LOVE trying to recreate restaurant dishes at home! It saves so much money!

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  27. Thanks Me, Myself and Pie! You are right, cooking at home defiantly saves you money.

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  28. this looks super yum, am a fan of green chiles. can see why its the most requested recipe :)

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  29. Green chili pasta sounds fantastic! yum!

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  30. Thank you for all the wonderful comments! I am currently in Cape Town, South Africa and have very limited access to email. I am able to read the comments but at times I am unable to answer them. So please keep the comments coming, I enjoy reading them.

    Thanks Again,

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  31. I have made this recipe twice now. It is so yummy!

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  32. I work with Tyler and he was nice enough to pass along one of your books. This is my favorite recipe! My wife and I are on vacation celebrating our anniversary, staying in tonight, and I'm making this. I was going to wing it on memory but I can't tell you how grateful I am to have been able to find it here online. You're the best!

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  33. I made this last night with a few additions. I live alone so I cut the amounts in half, added a can of diced tomatoes and a package of fresh mushrooms. Absolutely amazing! Thank you for the recipe! :)

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  34. I love the additions to the recipe! I am going to try that myself!

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