Recipe Rundown

Ok, so I've been trying, as money allows, to try out new recipes every once and a while. Since I didn't cook often in my itty bitty kitchen at the old place (it was just plain annoying to cook on 2x2 counter space and a half sized stove), my basic cooking supplies had dwindled down to nearly nothing. Things like spices, olive oil etc...Thus, initial shopping trips have been rather expensive.

I now have updated my kitchen with a lot of the basics...so I should be able to do a little more experimenting.

I made this recipe called Spicy Chicken Spaghetti last night for Brian and I. I'm one of those people who LOVES to spice things up with hot sauce...the spicier the better. I've always wanted to find a decent spicy spaghetti recipe, and this one looked interesting.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 10 chicken tenderloins
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (26 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce with mushrooms
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (10 ounce) can whole black olives, drained
• 1/4 cup canned jalapeno pepper slices, undrained
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 (16 ounce) package angel hair pasta
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Place chicken in the skillet, season with salt and pepper, and cook 6 minutes on each side, until juices run clear. Set aside, and keep warm.
2. In a large pot, mix spaghetti sauce, tomatoes with liquid, red bell pepper, corn, olives, and jalapenos. Bring to a boil, and season with garlic powder, onion powder, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Place chicken in the pot. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place pasta in the pot, and cook 2 to 4 minutes, until al dente. Drain, transfer to a bowl, and toss with remaining olive oil and butter. Spoon the sauce over the pasta to serve.

I forgot to take a photo after making it, so the photo above is actually of the leftovers I had for dinner tonight. If you like spicy food, this recipe is VERY good(even as leftovers)...I'm a spicy food lover and it even had my nose running.

I used a whole grain pasta to try to and add a healthy element to the recipe. It tends to be slightly stickier than regular pasta, but better for you and not different enough to justify not using it. I'm guessing it would be possible to make the sauce in large batches, and freeze it into smaller portions. I may try doing that next time.

Anyway, that's my review of spicy chicken spaghetti. I'll post more on my cooking successes (and failures) as I try more recipes on for size.