One Pot Creamy Cajun Pasta Bake Recipe

I have recently become a One Pot Dinner super fan. How I have managed to feed my family for so long without a good collection of One Pot Recipes is simply beyond me. Not only is the dinner preparation quite easy but the clean up is ridiculously simple! One pot, one knife, one cutting board, one wooden spoon, one happy Mom! I am so hooked on the One Pot Recipe trend I have begun figuring out ways to convert old recipes into One Pot versions.

Not only is it incredibly easy to make a boatload of food when using one pot recipes but they always taste incredible! The pasta soaks up every flavor added to the pot as it cooks and adds just enough starch to have that sauce clinging to every nook and cranny of every little pasta piece.

So far the equation for a successful one pot pasta dinner is pretty simple. Brown the meat and veggies, stir in the pasta and seasonings, add roughly double the amount of liquid as you did pasta. (For every cup of pasta add 2 cups of wet ingredients. Tomato sauce, crushed tomato, chicken stock, etc.) Simmer until perfect. Serve your army.

What you do with the flavor combinations is limited only by your mind! Coming from a Cajun family tree it is no wonder I love to cook with the traditional Cajun flavors passed down from my swamp loving, gator catching, moonshine making, French ancestors. Our cookin’ may not always look pretty, most recipes come together in one pot fashion, but it will always knock your taste buds right outta your mouth. A rich and flavorful base to all Cajun recipes is the ¨trinity¨: a mixture of onion, celery, and bell pepper. If you’re not using seafood you better be using some sausage folks, it’s an unspoken rule. I found some incredible Cajun Style Chicken Sausages  at my local store and thought it was the perfect opportunity to save on some calories and fat. A faux creamy punch is given to the dish with Litehouse’s Jalapeno Ranch Dressing, you’d never guess I didn’t use cream! In the end a delightful ¨Cajun Without The Calories” recipe was born.

Try transforming your favorite dinner into a One Pot Recipe using my basic equation for one pot recipe success, then punch it up a notch with a faux creamy finish using one of Litehouse’s delicious dressing flavors! There’s a flavor suitable for any family tree!