As my husband has learned over the years, what I say we are having for dinner is not always what we end up with. I always have a rough idea of what I am going to make, but most of the time it evolves as I actually begin to cook. Last night was a prime example of that. I set out to make pasta with chicken, lime and capers, but ended up making Margarita-Marguerita Pasta instead. At the dinner table I was listing the ingredients and the hubby asked if it had capers …….. to which I replied, “Not tonight. I changed it. Capers will be next time.” His thoughts? “Of course you did.”
I love limes. I love cilantro. I love chicken marinated in lime and cilantro. I love marguerita pizza from our local Italian restaurant. It has sun-dried tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, and garlic. I love margaritas. I love limes, and tequila….. So, I just combined them all together and voila! Margarita-Marguerita pasta was born! It was a big hit and here’s what I did!
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts, cubed to bite-size pieces
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 pkg mushrooms, stems removed and cut or sliced according to your preference
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 medium carrot, sliced thinly (*optional)
- 2 handfuls cilantro, chopped and divided in half
- 1/4 c tequila, or more depending on taste preferences (I prefer the gold variety and probably used almost 1/2 cup)
- 1/4 - 1/2 c lime juice, depending on how much you like lime
- 1 c shredded mozzarella cheese
- 8-10 grape tomatoes, quartered
- pasta water, as needed for sauce
- 1 small box spaghetti, cooked
Instructions
- Heat oil in large skillet.
- Saute mushrooms, onion, half of cilantro for five minutes and then add cubed chicken, tequila, carrot, and lime juice.
- Cook on low heat for about ten to fifteen minutes to give alcohol time to cook off and chicken is done.
- Add tomatoes remaining cilantro, and cooked pasta. Use a little pasta water if more sauce is needed to coat pasta.
- Stir in mozzarella and serve warm.
My version was quite lime-y but that’s how we roll at our house! This is one way to get my husband to eat pasta without complaining – NO RED SAUCE!
