Mexican Chicken Pasta Skillet

I was already planning to make this meal and post the recipe this week, and then Katie announced that she was hosting a skillet recipe "The Meals that Hamburger Helper was Trying to Imitate" carnival and I knew that this fit in perfectly. I really like that this recipe has a Mexican twist on what is traditionally an Italian type meal.  

Mexican Chicken Pasta Skillet
2 cups penne or rotini pasta (we use whole wheat)
1 lb. chicken breasts, cut into bite size chunks (I just use one large breast and it is enough)
1-2 Tbsp. butter or olive oil
1 1/2 - 2 cups salsa
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 c chopped green pepper
1/2 c chopped colored peppers (optional)
1 can kidney or black beans (or use 1 2/3 cups cooked dried beans)
onion salt, garlic powder and paprika to taste (about 1/8 tsp. each) 
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cook pasta according to directions on package.

While pasta is cooking, melt 1-2 Tbsp. butter or olive oil in a skillet. Add chicken and cook and stir for 2 minutes, until outside of chicken is mostly cooked.  Add the rest of the ingredients, except for cheese, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and cover, simmering for 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally.

Drain pasta, return to pan and add chicken mixture.  Stir to combine and top with 1/2 cup of the cheese. Cover and allow cheese to melt.  Stir and serve topped with remainder of cheese sprinkled on top.


A few notes:

• Obviously, this is not quite a one dish meal.  If you had a super large skillet you could probably add the pasta and some extra water to the skillet and cook it that way too.
• I sometimes add colored peppers and sometimes not, depending what I have on hand, this time I used some red pepper I had in the freezer along with the green pepper.
• Use cooked dried beans, it's MUCH cheaper!! 
• A little pre-prep work makes this a snap to throw together at dinner time, just pull everything out of the freezer to thaw - chicken cut into bite-sized chunks, diced pepper, cooked dried beans, corn - and you're ready to go!  
• You could also use real onion and garlic instead of powder.  We don't handle much onion in our house, but as I was writing this I thought, Why didn't I put fresh garlic in there instead of powder? 
• My hubby said, "This is really good."  I have a great husband, but he is not a big encourager in the cooking/food department.  He usually just eats what's in front of him without a lot of comment, good or bad.  So, the fact that he made a positive comment about this means something, at least to me. :)
• As this is a pretty complete meal-in-one, I'm having a hard time figuring out what to serve with it.  It looks so lonely on the plate all by itself.  Any ideas for me? 

And Baking Day.  I told you on Monday that I was planning baking/food prep days for today and tomorrow.  Well, I did a lot of baking and cooking today, it didn't go exactly as planned, but that's okay.  I accomplished about half the things on my list, but also had to make a grocery run in the middle of the day.  So, I'm pretty happy with myself and plan to finish stuff up tomorrow, although it may be a little tougher with a certain 2 year old around.  I'm planning to post more about my kitchen adventures tomorrow, so be sure to check back!

Please visit Kitchen Stewardship for more One Skillet Recipes that are husband-approved.
And Recipe Swap at Grocery Cart Challenge