Recipe: Spicy Chicken Rigatoni

Ready for something tasty this Thursday? I made you wait a couple extra days cuz of Christmas.
I think you'll forgive me once you try out this recipe I have for you! 

Remember in one of my Pinteresting posts when I pinned a yummy looking meal called Spicy Chicken Rigatoni and said I would need to try it out? Well I did. And it was amazeballs delish! (Yeah I just said that.)

This guy has a whole lotta flavor and a whole lotta kick to it. If you don't like spicy either don't make this dish, or make it with significantly less red pepper flakes. Just a warning!

This dish was made to be like a dish at Buca di Beppo and it definitely tastes like it came from a restaurant.
My version is slightly adapted from the original recipe--I used a different sauce, and more peas and chicken than the original recipe.

What You Need:

Pretend oil is in this picture

-1 lb rigatoni

-1Tbsp chopped/minced garlic

-1/4 Cup oil

-1/2 Tbsp red pepper flakes (I'd say about half or quarter of that if you don't like a lot of spice)

-1/8 tsp salt

-1/8 tsp pepper

-9 oz cooked, sliced chicken
-15 oz jar of sundried tomato alfredo sauce (Classico brand)

-2 tsp butter

-1 cup peas

What You Do:

1. Start cooking the pasta according to directions in a large pot. Wait to start the rest of the meal until the water starts to boil since cooking the pasta will take about 12 minutes. When it's done, drain it and return to the pot.

2. In a large saute pan, heat up the oil, salt, pepper, red pepper, and garlic until the garlic gets warm and pungent (about 1-2 minutes).

3. Add in the chicken and toss it in the garlic mixture until it's evenly coated and starts to heat through.

4. Add in the sundried tomato alfredo sauce. Bring it to a simmer and let the sauce thicken up (so there's not as much excess oil)

5. Once the sauce looks thickened up, turn down the flame really low and add in the butter and peas. Do this until you're ready to add it to the drained pasta in the pot.

Mix the pasta and the sauce mixture until it's coated evenly throughout.

6. Serve up the pasta in bowls and garnish with a few extra red pepper flakes if you want (I'd recommend not, though. It was plenty hot and spicy without the extra "garnish)

Enjoy!

This recipe made us dinner for two and 3 helpings for leftovers. Budget-friendly and delish!

Let me know if you try it and how you like it!