Easy Verde Skillet Pasta Bake

Verde like....salsa verde.  With pasta and sour cream and chicken and local peppers so it's a vegetable too.  A health food!

I'm super into salsa verde or anything with that tangy, bright Mexican feel.  Green hot sauce is my jam, restaurants that serve verde instead of red salsa are my home, just goo all around.  I think verdent is the word we're looking for, right?  e pu

This is similar to the Caesar pasta I made a few weeks ago in that you can very easily use leftover chicken + pasta or make it all right then and there.  I've recently been making a whole box of pasta at once when I know we won't eat it all and then using the leftovers for stuff like this.  I do this mainly because I don't want to wash "the big pot" twice.  Plus, you can't tell that you're eating leftover pasta, so why not?  It works.  

See also: copious amounts of Monterrey jack.  

Let's talk about the peppers first.  I used a mix of poblano and cubanelle peppers from the farmer's market, but any old green pepper will do you just fine.  1 large bell plus 1 jalapeno would produce the same effect, or you could add red pepper or anything else you have around.  Then you need some pasta, and if you cook it right now save some of the pasta water.  If it's leftover pasta just splash in water or chicken stock, no worries.  You also need shredded chicken, shredded Monterrey Jack cheese, the peppers all chopped up, some minced garlic, chopped onion, canned green chiles, salsa verde, sour cream, and lime wedges and cilantro for bonus points.  The prep on this stuff isn't hard at all, and you can use any kind of chicken you like: I just sear mine in a skillet with butter/salt/pepper and then pull it into little bits with my hands.  

Once your prep is done you just start building the dish in a big skillet!  I use a massive cast iron skillet, but if you don't have anything like this that can go into the oven (although, check it out, even nonstick stuff can go into the oven to a certain temperature) you can of course make this on the stovetop and then transfer it to a baking dish.  Up to you!  In either case, add the peppers, onion, and garlic to a big skillet with some olive oil over medium-high heat.  

Saute the peppers and onions for 5 minutes or so to soften them.  Stir every minute to keep the garlic from burning.  When the peppers are cooked, toss in the rest of the ingredients!  pasta, pasta water, chicken.  

½ the cheese, salsa verde, sour cream, and canned green chiles.  

Stir everything together and check it out - we're looking for a pretty soupy mess since some of the liquid will absorb as the dish bakes, and strong salsa verde flavor - add salt, pepper, or more salsa verde at this point depending on what you prefer.  Top the dish with cheese, and all that's left is to bake it!  

If all of your ingredients are really hot (if you just boiled the pasta, etc), you can simply broil this, eat, and serve.  If you're using leftovers, bake the whole dish uncovered at 400F for 20-30 minutes until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese on top has browned.  

Then its lime wedges + cilantro and BOOM.  Done.  You can add cold sour cream, jalapenos, hot sauce, or more salsa verde if you'd like, but I kept my toppings minimal since there was so much going on in the sauce for the pasta.  

Dinner tonight, anyone?  

I'll make this for you. 

Easy Verde Skillet Pasta Bake

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

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• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 small poblano peppers seeds + stems removed and thinly sliced
• 4 small cubanelle peppers seeds + stems removed and thinly sliced
• 1 small onion diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 4 cups cooked pasta any kind you like
• ½ cup pasta water reserved from the cooking process
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 ½ cups shredded monterrey jack cheese
• 1 cup jarred salsa verde
• 4 ounces canned green chiles
• lime wedges and cilantro for serving

Instructions

 

• In a large ovenproof skillet, heat the olive oil, onion, peppers, and garlic over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes until soft and lightly browned.
• Add the pasta, chicken, reserved pasta water, sour cream, salsa verde, canned chiles, and 1 cup of the cheese to the vegetable mixture. Stir together and taste; add salt, pepper, or more salsa verde to your preference. The mixture should be slightly soupy.
• Top the skillet with the rest of the cheese. Broil (if the dish is already hot) or bake at 400F for 20-30 minutes until the dish is bubbly and the cheese on top has browned.
• Serve hot with cilantro and lime wedges. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 4g

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