Chicken Carbonara with Angel Hair Pasta

Tonight's dish was inspired (believe it or not) by my favorite sub at Quizno's.  I absolutely love the Chicken Carbonara sub at Quizno's. If they ever stopped having it, I would never set foot in another one ever again. It's delicious! Of course, what dish with bacon isn't delicious? Because of this sub, I tried a pasta dish a few years ago while visiting my best friend, William, in Cleveland, OH. He took me to a restaurant called Luxe (http://www.luxecleveland.com/). If you're ever there, stop in and be prepared for a great martini and a delicious meal. The pasta dish I had at Luxe was...wait for it...Chicken Carbonara.  I cannot to this day remember a single flavor about this dish or what it even looked like.  What I do remember is how I felt when I ate it.  I felt completely satisfied.  Isn't that what is important after all?  It's about how we feel.  I finished the dish and I'm sure the two dirty martinis I had (with Belvedere vodka, of course) had nothing to do with the ambiance of the evening.

Since that day, I have wanted to recreate that dish.  I have a friend that used to own a Quizno's and I once tried to convince him to let me have some of the sauce that they use on the Chicken Carbonara sub, but I decided that there had to be a better way.  I googled....what else? I found a great recipe which I will share with you tonight.  The first time I tried this recipe, I followed it exactly about bought the Ragu alfredo sauce.  After spending over $5.00 just on the alfredo sauce, I decided that there must be a better way.  Turns out, alfredo sauce is pretty simple and easy to make.  I'll share both recipes with you and you can choose which way you want to make it (The homemade alfredo was better, just sayin').

Homemade Alfredo Sauce

½ cup butter

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese

1 cup half and half

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

1 Tbs. garlic powder (optional)

Pepper, to taste

In a medium saucepan, melt butter. Once butter is almost melted, add the package of cream cheese (It's easiest to cut it into 4 pieces so that it melts quickly). Once butter and cream cheese are mixed well together, add the cup of half and half, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and then shake pepper on top. Stir all together until well mixed. Once it's mixed well and sauce-like, take it off the burner and set aside so it can thicken up. Stir every few moments.

I used more than 1/3 cup of Parmesan.  I also grated my own Parmesan.  Rachael Ray says that many times the pre-shredded Parmesan has been frozen to prevent mold and doesn't have as much flavor.  I believe her (makes perfect sense to me).

 

Chicken Carbonara with Angel Hair

1 lb diced white meat chicken

10 slices bacon (cut in small pieces)

2-3 cloves of minced garlic

1 medium onion, diced

1 large red bell pepper, diced

1 lb sliced mushrooms (optional)

4-5 Tbs. butter or margarine

2-3 Tbs. liquid smoke

2 jars of Ragu creamy alfredo sauce (or homemade)

1 box angel hair pasta (or whatever pasta you choose)

salt and pepper

Marinate chicken with minced garlic, salt, pepper and liquid smoke for about an hour or two in the fridge. Melt 3 Tbs. of butter in frying pan and add your marinated chicken and cook until done. Set aside in a dish. Melt 2 Tbs. butter in the same frying pan and add in the onions and cook until halfway done. Add in your mushrooms next and cook the liquid out of them. When the mushrooms are halfway done add in your red bell pepper. Set this mixture aside in a bowl. Fry your bacon until done. Drain on a paper towel.

Meanwhile, boil your pasta in salted water. Remove the drippings from the pan but do not wipe it clean. Pour both jars of the alfredo sauce and add a little water. I normally add it to the jar and swish it around to get the rest of the sauce from the jar. Once sauce starts to simmer pour all of your veggies from the bowl into the sauce and add in your chicken. Stir well. Let simmer for about 10- 15 minutes or until chicken is heated to desire temperature. Drain your pasta and add your sauce together or pour your sauce on top of your pasta.

I don't like mushrooms, so I decided that I would just leave that out.  Also, if you have never used Liquid Smoke, it's very potent.  A little goes a long way. Don't go overboard when you're marinating your chicken.  I did not marinate the chicken nearly that long, nor did I marinate it in the refrigerator. If your sauce is too thick, add some more half and half or water to your mixture.