Revamping Recipes: Creamy Mexican Pasta

I wanted to start my semester off with a bang, so I chose a very simple and affordable (but incredibly delicious) recipe found at Recipe Zaar.

I revamped the recipe slightly, which you’ll see how below.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb uncooked bow tie pasta  (I used Ziti)
• 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (I only used 3/4 a pound)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed (I used garlic powder I had on hand)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup chicken broth (I used chicken bouillon and made my own broth)
• 1 cup salsa
• 8 ounces cream cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

This recipe was very simple and affordable for me to make because I had almost everything on hand already.

Let’s see just how easy it was.

I started the dish by boiling a big pot of water.  Before I poured the pasta in, I took a cup of the boiling water and poured it into a mug and mixed in a tablespoon of the chicken boullion to save for later.  Then I poured the whole box of pasta in so it could cook while I got the rest of the ingredients ready.

Then I cut the chicken into bite size pieces.

Then cut the cream cheese into cubes for later.

I then buttered the pan and added the chicken.  I let it cook for about 4-5 minutes, making sure to stir it occasionally so both sides cooked evenly.

After the 4-5 minutes, I added garlic and stirred it around.  I then let the chicken cook all the way through before continuing.

A little bit later the pasta was ready, so I drained it and set it aside.

Then I stirred in the flour.

And added the milk and chicken broth I had set aside earlier, making sure to stir it constantly so it thickens.

Once the flour was mixed in, I added the salsa and cream cheese.  Then I stirred and stirred until it went from this (with chunks of cream cheese mixed with the chunks of chicken):

To this (only chunks of chicken):

  Then when the sauce started to bubble, I added the pasta.

And mixed everything together really well.  Now, you can either serve immediately once everything is mixed and hot, or you can pour it into a casserole dish to save for later (or to bring to a potluck – which I would highly recommend) like I did because I will be eating this all week.

If you are saving it, try not to devour every last fork full of this delicious dish before it gets to the fridge.  It may be hard, but you will be happier if you let it last all week, savoring it a little bit every day until it’s gone.  Then make it again – it’s that good!

What are you cooking this week?

Sidenote: Make sure you stop in tomorrow because my first giveaway will be posted, and trust me, you’ll love it! I can’t wait to share it with all of you!

This post is a part of Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace, and Tuesdays at the Table at All the Small Stuff.