Chicken Bow Tie Festival - Cheyenne's Version
I LOVE Italian cuisine! I also happen to love wine. If I ever traveled overseas it would be to Italy....I'm quite obsessed with it all! Have you ever eaten at "Johnny Carino's"? I believe they changed the name of the restaurant chain to just "Carino's" now. Anyway, this has been one of my favorite (and hard to find) places to eat. Whenever we went "back home" to Montana we would stop and eat at the one in Billings. I always ordered the same thing.....Chicken Bow Tie Festival. I absolutely love this dish.....so I decided that I needed to replicate it the best I could so we could enjoy it whenever we wanted to. Perhaps I could even make it a bit better.....I'm happy to say that I think I did just that. The last time we went to Billings we ate at "Carino's". I ordered my favorite dish (by this time I had been making my own version for over a year). Guess what.....it wasn't nearly as good as I remembered it! How surprising! It was too salty.....the service was shoddy.....and we spent almost $60 on a meal that I can make better at home for a heck of a lot less than that! I pretty much made this recipe up after I tried searching for something similar....and couldn't find anything dead on.....well, I ate this dish many times before I decided to try to make it myself. Once a person has consumed something enough you can usually guess at what's in it through trial and error if need be. So, with that said....I present to you:
Chicken Bow Tie Festival (Cheyenne's Version)
Box of Bow Tie Pasta
1 lb. of boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
6 slices bacon, cooked, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 can of Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 purple onion, minced
1 package Philadelphia Cream Cheese, cubed
½ cup water
Parmesan Grated Cheese
Salt
Pepper
Oregano
Basil
Lawry’s Seasoning Salt
Sugar
Begin by boiling water. Toss in the entire box of pasta. Cook until done. While this is cooking, cut up bacon and fry over medium heat in a large, deep skillet. Be careful not to get it too brown or crisp. When finished remove from the pan and put on a paper towel covered plate, set aside. Place the chicken in the same pan as the bacon was in. Fry the chicken until about half done. Add the minced garlic, minced onion. Cook until vegetables start to turn translucent. Add the diced tomatoes, cream cheese, water, and seasonings. I start with a teaspoon of each and go from there based on taste. Once I get to where it tastes the way I want it to I toss in a teaspoon or two of sugar to cut the acid of the tomatoes a bit. Cook until cream cheese is completely melted and everything is mixed up really well. Taste again to check your spices. I find the longer I cook this the more mixed the flavors become (this is a good thing). Once to your liking, add the drained, cooked pasta and mix thoroughly. Add the parmesa and let it melt for a bit. Once that is finished, it is ready! Enjoy...and try not to overdo it.....I dare ya!! :)
Begin by boiling water. Toss in the entire box of pasta. Cook until done. While this is cooking, cut up bacon and fry over medium heat in a large, deep skillet. Be careful not to get it too brown or crisp. When finished remove from the pan and put on a paper towel covered plate, set aside. Place the chicken in the same pan as the bacon was in. Fry the chicken until about half done. Add the minced garlic, minced onion. Cook until vegetables start to turn translucent. Add the diced tomatoes, cream cheese, water, and seasonings. I start with a teaspoon of each and go from there based on taste. Once I get to where it tastes the way I want it to I toss in a teaspoon or two of sugar to cut the acid of the tomatoes a bit. Cook until cream cheese is completely melted and everything is mixed up really well. Taste again to check your spices. I find the longer I cook this the more mixed the flavors become (this is a good thing). Once to your liking, add the drained, cooked pasta and mix thoroughly. Add the parmesa and let it melt for a bit. Once that is finished, it is ready! Enjoy...and try not to overdo it.....I dare ya!! :)
Here's what it should look like (sorry, no step-by-step pictures this time either...next time):
This is another favorite of ours.....hope you like it as much as we do! This creamy, filling dish is hard to beat! Shane doesn't even pick anything out when I make it.....score! :) ~Cheyenne