Chicken Enchilada Pasta

Chicken enchiladas have always been a favorite meal of mine, but they have especially been memorable since July 25th, 2011, when they made my water break. You see on that day, I waddled my 38-week pregnant body up to Woodman's to do a massive grocery shopping extravaganza (Woodman's is always an extravaganza, but when you're that pregnant & it's summer, it's just massive). I was doubling up on a lot of our meals back then so that I could have one for dinner & freeze another for when the baby arrived. On that particular day, I was whipping up a batch of chicken enchiladas.

After I unloaded the car, I got started cooking. I wanted to try & get most of the cooking done before it was too miserably hot, so I was working as fast as I could. I sat down while I started cutting up the chicken & when I stood up, I was absolutely convinced that I had just wet my pants (when you're pregnant, surprisingly wetting your pants isn't really shocking after it's happened a dozen times).

I then proceeded to waddle upstairs to change my clothes. Something just didn't seem right though, so I called John & together, we researched if that could have been my water breaking. We found all kinds of "tests" I could do, but in the end, we wisely called our midwife, who asked me a few questions & then suggested that I come in to her office to do an "official" test. 12 hours later my contractions started & 8 more hours later, Ruby was in our arms! Badda bing, badda boom!

So every time I see a recipe for chicken enchiladas, I kind of get a little sentimental. And I thought I would experiment with this recipe, which calls for penne pasta instead of tortillas. To top off the sentiment of it all, we brought this meal to a family in our church who just recently had a baby. I found it fitting.

This recipe could easily be turned vegetarian by subbing the chicken for beans or more vegetables. Just make sure that you check the ingredients (if you're a hardcore veg) on you can of enchilada sauce because some contain chicken stock.

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

Ingredients

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded (or a few breasts put in the crockpot & then shredded)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 can diced green chiles (4 oz)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 can green chili enchilada sauce (10 oz)
2 cups shredded cheese (any kind, but I like mozzarella or something else creamy & mild)
1 8 oz block of cream cheese
12 oz Penne pasta

Optional topping ideas
Avocado

Green Onions
Black Olives
Tomatoes
Sour Cream

Directions
Preheat your broiler to low. Shred chicken into bite-sized pieces. Boil pasta according to package. Heat olive oil in a deep skillet & cook onions for 3-5 minutes. Add garlic & red pepper & cook for another 3-5 minutes.

Add cooked chicken, green chiles, cumin, chili powder, salt, & enchilada sauce. Let sauce simmer for about 8-10 minutes. Add cream cheese & stir until they are melted & heated through.

Drain pasta & add to the skillet with the cheese sauce & mix well. Put everything in a baking dish & top with the shredded cheese. Stick it in the oven (low broiler) for a few minutes until cheese has melted & is beginning to get brown & bubbly. Serve & garnish with desired toppings.

Recipe adapted from Navy Wife Cook