Louisiana Chicken Pasta (Cheesecake Factory Copycat)

1. TO MAKE BATTER FOR CHICKEN: Even though we won’t cook chicken in this step, we want to make the flour mixture now ahead of time so that it’s right there in front of us when we need to use it. In a shallow dish mix ½ cup Parmesan cheese, 1 cup bread crumbs, 1/3 cup flour, ½ tsp salt and 1 tsp Italian Seasoning and set aside. Add 2 eggs into another dish or a bowl and whisk them until mixed.
2. TO COOK VEGGIES FOR THE SAUCE: Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp butter on medium high heat in a large stainless steel skillet until melted. Add 8 oz sliced cremini mushrooms to the hot pan and cook for a total of 3 minutes – 1.5 minute on each side. Remove mushrooms, if you want them to stay more flavorful and intact for the sauce. Otherwise, you can leave them in the same pan. I only like to remove them because they retain flavor and texture better that way – it’s not necessary.
3. Add ½ red bell pepper and ½ yellow bell pepper, chopped to small cubes and 2 chopped green onions and a splash of olive oil. Cook for 4 minutes on medium high until softened. Add 3 garlic cloves and cook for 1 additional minute until garlic is fragrant.
4. TO MAKE SAUCE: Stir in 1 tbsp flour and then add 1 cup chicken stock, 1 cup heavy cream, 1 to 1.5 tsp Cajun Seasoning, ½ tsp paprika and ½ tsp red pepper flakes and salt to taste. Add 1 small chopped tomato and simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes.
5. Add 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese to sauce, stirring to incorporate. Taste the sauce now before adding pasta to make sure it's seasoned to your liking, add a pinch more of Cajun seasoning, red pepper flakes and salt if necessary.
6. TO COOK PASTA: In the meantime bring a large pot of water to boil, add pasta and cook it according to instructions. Drain the pasta, but do not rinse. For authentic “al dente” pasta, boil your pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally for 12 minutes. For more tender pasta, boil an additional 1 minute.
7. TO COOK CHICKEN: If your chicken breasts are not thin, butterfly them, or flatten them by pounding with a meat tenderizer. The thinner the chicken breasts the better.
8. Take a chicken and dip in flour mixture first, then into the egg bowl, then back into the flour mixture. I went from one bowl to the other until I liked how much stuff I had on the chicken. Repeat with each chicken breast and set them aside on a plate.
9. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil on medium high in the stainless steel skillet (2nd skillet, not the one that has the sauce in it) and cook on medium high for 3 to 4 minutes on each side (total of 6-8 minutes) – just set the timer and flip when it beeps. Check to make sure the chicken is fully cooked.
10. TO PUT IT ALL TOGETHER: Add pasta to the pan and stir until fully coated in sauce. Add mushrooms (if you removed them earlier) to the sauce now. Season with more salt if necessary. Slice chicken into thin strips and serve on top of pasta. Sprinkle with additional shredded Parmesan and chopped fresh green onions, if desired.

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