Bechamel Chicken Pasta

This week adalah minggu malas masak sedunia. Bila malas masak, aku akan ambik jalan shortcut, which is, masak pasta. Kan semalam aku ada mentioned dalam entry, nak masak this dish, but sebab takde cheese, makan terbantut hasrat aku yang setinggi gunung fiji tu. So tadi, dengan semangat yang berkobar2, aku pegi Jusco untuk beli barang. Kopak duit makcik beli 500gm shredded Mozarella.. huwaaa... Tapi takpe, demi menyahut cabaran yang telah aku laungkan dalam facebook pada Jeni and Elisa, aku rela.

This recipe is taken from allrecipes.com. I didnt make any alteration to the original recipe, except part dill and cilantro tu, which aku terus omit. In a way, i regretted using peas sebab rasa weird (hubby loves it!) bagi aku. Maybe jugak sebab aku bukan peminat setia peas. Sorry ye encik peas, u're not in my list of favourite food.

Fresh from the oven

Tak sabar tunggu sejuk, terus aku potong and hidang pada hubby :)

source : http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Bechamel-Chicken-Pasta/Detail.aspx

Ingredients 

• 1 (16 ounce) package dried penne pasta
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
• 1/2 cup frozen peas (replace with mushroom, will taste better)
• 1 bunch cilantro ( I omitted this)
• 3 sprigs fresh dill weed, chopped (I didnt add any)
• 1 (6 ounce) can  tomato paste/puree
• 1/2 cup water
• salt and pepper to taste

Bechamel Sauce

•  10 tablespoons butter
•   2 tbs chicken cube
•  10 tablespoons all-purpose flour
•   6 cups milk
• pepper to taste
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil, cook the penne pasta 10 to 12 minutes, until al dente, and drain.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion, green bell pepper, and garlic until tender. Stir in the chicken, and cook until almost done. Mix in the peas, cilantro, dill, tomato paste, and enough water to make a thick sauce. Continue to cook and stir until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear, and all the ingredients are heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. To prepare the bechamel sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Dissolve the chicken bouillon cube in the melted butter. Stirring constantly, blend in the flour until smooth. Mix in the milk, season with pepper, and continue to cook and stir until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
5. In a bowl, mix the cooked pasta with 1/2 the bechamel sauce. Place 1/2 the pasta in a baking dish, layer with 1/2 the chicken mixture, and 1/2 the mozzarella cheese. Layer with the remaining pasta, remaining chicken mixture, and remaining bechamel sauce. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese.
6. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until bubbly.

Next cabaran is buat Pineapple Upside Down Cake this weekend. Aduh! kena bertungkus lumus study ni.. hehe