Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Pasta Bake
with Fajita-Spiced Bell Pepper & Onion
Get ready for a crowd-pleasing family style dinner that everyone (even the kiddos) will love. It’s a magnificent mashup only our chefs could dream up: enchilada pasta! We replace the tortillas with tender penne, season the chicken, onion, and bell peppers with our bold blend of fajita-style spices, then coat everything in a creamy Tex-Mex-style tomato sauce with a blend of Mexican cheeses subbing in for mozzarella. Bake it up, savor the aroma of all those flavors mingling in the oven, then straight to the table it goes with a final flourish of crisp, zippy scallion greens.
This recipe is double the typical servings, providing 4 servings and 8 servings for a 2 person and 4 person box respectively.
Produced in a facility that processes eggs, milk, fish, peanuts, sesame, shellfish, soy, tree nuts, and wheat.
Ingredients
2 unit
Scallions
1 unit
Yellow Onion
1 unit
Green Bell Pepper
12 ounce
Penne Pasta
(Contains Wheat)
20 ounce
Chicken Breast Strips
2 tablespoon
Fajita Spice Blend
8 ounce
Cream Sauce Base
(Contains Milk)
14 ounce
Diced Tomatoes
1 unit
Chicken Stock Concentrate
1 unit
Tex-Mex Paste
1.5 cup
Mexican Cheese Blend
(Contains Milk)
Not included in your delivery
Salt
Pepper
2 teaspoon
Cooking Oil
Cooking Spray
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Instructions
• Adjust rack to middle position (top and middle positions for 8 servings) and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bring a large pot (two large pots for 8) of salted water to a boil. Wash and dry produce. • Trim and thinly slice scallions, separating whites from greens. Halve, peel, and thinly slice onion. Halve, core, and thinly slice bell pepper. • Generously coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish (two 9-by-13-inch baking dishes for 8) with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
• Once water is boiling, add penne to pot (for 8 servings, divide between two large pots or cook in batches). Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 9-11 minutes. • Reserve ½ cup pasta cooking water (1 cup for 8), then drain.
• Meanwhile, open package of chicken* and drain off any excess liquid. Heat a large drizzle of oil in a large pan over high heat. Add chicken, scallion whites, onion, and bell pepper in a single layer; season with Fajita Spice Blend, salt, and pepper. • Cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is browned and cooked through and onion is tender, 4-6 minutes. TIP: Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to work in batches, adding another drizzle of oil for each batch. Be sure not to overcrowd the pan for even browning!
• In a large bowl, whisk together cream sauce base, diced tomatoes, stock concentrate, half the Tex-Mex paste, and two packets of Mexican cheese blend (all the Tex-Mex paste and four packets of Mexican cheese blend for 8 servings).
• Transfer drained penne and chicken mixture to bowl with sauce; stir to thoroughly combine. TIP: If sauce seems too thick, add splashes of reserved pasta cooking water until everything is thoroughly coated. • Transfer pasta mixture to prepared baking dish (divide between two prepared baking dishes for 8 servings). • Cover baking dish tightly with foil; set on top of a foil-lined baking sheet (two baking sheets for 8). (The sheet will help protect your oven from any sauce that may bubble over!)
• Bake on middle rack until bubbly, 30 minutes (bake on top and middle racks for 8 servings). TIP: Lift the foil carefully to check on the pasta bake— there might be some steam! • Remove sheet with baking dish from oven. Carefully remove and discard foil from baking dish; stir pasta bake. Sprinkle with remaining Mexican cheese blend; return sheet with baking dish to oven and bake, uncovered, until cheese melts, 3-5 minutes more.
• Let pasta bake rest at least 5 minutes before serving. • Garnish with scallion greens and serve family style directly from baking dish.
Chicken is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 165°.
