Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Chicken & Pumpkin Cream Sauce Pasta

Chicken & Pumpkin Cream Sauce Pasta

When I run out of actual planned meals for the week, but haven't made it back to the store yet, I like to play a version of Chopped with myself. I find a protein and a starch or grain and see what I can whip up with them. This week, I was left with a pound of chicken breast and some whole grain pasta. I also still have a ton of pumpkin left, and thought maybe I could incorporate it into a chicken pasta dish. So I scoured Pinterest for "chicken pumpkin pasta" and came across this pin of this recipe.

I glanced at the ingredients and figured I would have everything I needed. As it turned out, I didn't have any chicken broth or heavy whipping cream. But I was able to find substitutes for both of them, so I forged ahead. And then I realized I didn't have any sage, so I looked up spices that typically accompany sage and used the ones I had from that list instead. The recipe you see here is a result of all those substitutions, a sort of Frankenstein's monster of mish-mashed ingredients that I figured would be "good enough."

Don't worry, unlike Frankenstein, this story has a happy ending.

Ingredients

8 oz whole grain linguine 
2 Tbsp butter
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch strips
2 cloves pressed or chopped garlic
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup water + 1/2 Tbsp olive oil mixed (sub for 1/2 cup chicken broth)
1/2 cup milk + 1/4 cup melted butter mixed ( sub for 3/4 cup whipping cream)
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions: 

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and keep warm.

2. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in 12-inch skillet until it sizzles, then add the chicken and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through (8 to 10 minutes). Add chicken and garlic to pasta.

3. Combine the pumpkin puree, chicken broth (or substitute), whipping cream (or substitute), herbs, spices and salt in medium bowl. 


Chicken & Pumpkin Cream Sauce Pasta


4. Pour over pasta mixture and stir to coat. Heat everything up over medium heat until heated through (3 to 5 minutes).

The end result was actually pretty good! My husband said it was "surprisingly good" (a glowing recommendation if ever I've heard one). It was pretty devoid of color, though. If I were to make it again, I might try it the way it was originally intended. But without having the original version to compare this one to, I think this was a pretty good substitute.

This has been another installment of The Pintester Movement, where I pick a pin and just go for it, win or lose. I'm counting this one as a mostly-win, since all of the substitutions didn't render the dish inedible!

31 comments:

  1. Sounds interesting...not sure how I feel about pumpkin, pasta and chicken together, though (I DO LOVE ALL 3 otherwise!)!
    I think that the pumpkin sauce might be good on spaghetti squash!!??!
    Amy
    Mariposa Medley Jewelry
    www.mariposamedley.com

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  2. I have had pumpkin stuff ravioli before and it was really good. I bet this is tasty, too! Way to make it all work. I totally type random ingredients into google all the time and find recipes we now love!

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  3. I've always wanted to try pumpkin stuffed ravioli, it sounds so good! It really was pretty tasty, I was surprised too! Haha I do that all the time, too, it's fun to find new recipes that become favorites!

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  4. The pumpkin flavor wasn't very prominent, I think it just added to the creaminess of the sauce. The rosemary was what I tasted the most. Putting it on spaghetti squash is a great idea!

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  5. I loved that you found a recipe to fit the ingredients you had...well most of the ingredients :) Sometimes I wonder who these people are that have things like heavy whipping cream just sitting in their fridge. Probably people that cook alot. In any case it is ALWAYS something I have to go and buy. Next time I will try your substitution.


    Have a fabulous day
    Cherin// masterfullyme.com

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  6. Great job! I also had no chicken broth for my pin, oops! But it still turned out mighty tasty.

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  7. This sounds fantastic! Thanks for testing it

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  8. That looks so good! I love using pumpkin in pastas. Well in everything really. I will definitely be trying this one out.

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  9. This sounds (and looks) delicious! I'm not usually a fan of pumpkin in pasta but I'll have to give this recipe a go soon! :)

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  10. Pumpkin is the best thing ever! I will be trying this soon. Thank you for posting this, I'm excited to try it myself!

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  11. Looks delish! I would never survive on Chopped!

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  12. My friend made me something similar but with sausage instead of chicken. To. Die. For. Maybe I'll blend both worlds and use chicken sausage.
    nom nom nom

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  13. Sounds delicious. I will totally be trying this... thought I may use sage instead of rosemary, because I have it (thought I also have rosemary, and every other spice known to man... my household suffers from spice hoarding).

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  14. Sounds good. I love pumpkin anything.

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  15. This looks simple enough that even I could make it! Glad you whipping cream substitution worked out, because that's not an ingredient that's usually hanging around my kitchen either.

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  16. Not sure I would have been brave enough to try pumpkin and chicken. Glad your hubby liked it.

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  17. Thanks! Every time I buy whipping cream it's for a specific recipe so I never just have it sitting around. This substitute is going to come in handy!

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  18. Thank you! I'll have to check out your pin test!

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  19. I've been on a pumpkin kick recently (still going strong), pumpkin in everything is just fine by me! Thanks!

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  20. Thank you! I was a little nervous about the pumpkin with the pasta but was surprised by the results!

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  21. Oh that sounds amazing. Might have to try it with sausage some time! Thanks for stopping by!

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  22. Thank you! I'm curious what it would be like with the sage... I have a decent spice collection going, but have a long way to go before I hit hoarder status haha!

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  23. Me too! I only ever buy it with a specific recipe in mind, so it never lasts long enough to have it "just lying around." Thanks for stopping by!

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  24. hahaha I love the substitutions...it's how I roll 99% of the time too.

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