Lemon Chicken Linguine

This dinner was so yummy! I've really enjoyed the recipes I've tried from My Kitchen Cafe. I think I'll keep trying them out.

This was very flavorful, definitely lemon-y, and the chicken was nice and juicy.

It was a tad on the oily side for me, so I may decrease the amount of olive oil next time. Also, she mentioned that Cajun seasoning can be very spicy and said that you could put in less if you didn't want it to be too spicy. Being pregnant, I thought that would be a good idea; however, it ended up being not spicy at all. Next time I'm definitely going to try it with the whole tablespoon! :)

Lemon Chicken Linguine

Ingredients:

Marinade:

1/2 c. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed with the back of a knife

1 T. Cajun seasoning (you can reduce this to 1 1/2 t. if you're worried about it being too spicy)

juice of one lemon

2 T. fresh parsley, minced

2 T. brown sugar

2 T. soy sauce

2 chicken breasts, sliced*

1 lb. linguine (we used Whole Grain)

2 T. olive oil

zest from one lemon

juice from one lemon

3 green onions, diced (whole thing, green and white)

1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, grated

salt and pepper

*I used three because ours were very small, and even then Paul said it could have used more chicken.

Directions:

Combine marinade ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together lightly. Slice chicken (I chose to slice mine very thin so that the pieces wouldn't be too big). Pour chicken and marinade into a ziploc bag and refrigerate for 3-12 hours. (I ended up marinating it for about 7 and a half, and it was nice and flavored.

Boil water and prepare linguine as directed on package. Meanwhile, combine remaining olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, onions, and parsley in a small bowl. Set aside. When pasta is finished cooking, drain it and return it to the warm pot. Add juice/oil mixture and toss to coat.

Pour chicken and marinade into a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute until chicken is done. For me, this only took about 7-8 minutes because I had sliced the chicken so thin. Pour hot chicken and sauce over the cooked pasta and toss to coat. Add Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper as needed, toss and serve.

Miscellaneous notes:

I need a zester. Seriously. My cheap-o grater just didn't do the job!

Next time, when I reduce the oil, I'll probably use only 1/4 c. in the marinade and 1 T. at the end.

The pasta was VERY lemony. It was delicious, but very strong. I think increasing the amount of Cajun seasoning next time will help to balance it out.

I really like Parmesan cheese, and when I tossed it with the hot pasta it got a bit lost. I recommend topping each bowl with a little additional Parmesan cheese.

Paul and I both agreed that this is a recipe I will make again and again! :)

Here's a link to the original recipe on My Kitchen Cafe: Beach Street Lemon Chicken Linguine.

I labeled this as 20 minutes because that's how long the actual cooking lasted. I obviously am not including marinating time.