Blackened Chicken Bowtie

I love the Blackened Chicken Bowtie Pasta at Iggy's Bar and Grill, but we don't have one here in Washington.  When my sister found an easy recipe to blacken chicken, I hopped on the opportunity and  tried to re-create it.  It isn't exactly the same but it does a good enough job to curb the craving.  Since I borrowed some of the recipe from my sister, I attached a link below.

- 2 or 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts split lengthwise to make 4 to 6.

- Cajun spice mix (recipe below or you can use store bought) 

-1 small package bowtie noodles

- Parmesan cream sauce ( recipe below) 

- half bag of baby spinach

- 12-15 mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

-grated Parmesan to top if desired

Blackened Seasoning:

1 tbsp. paprika 

4 tsp. dried thyme 

2 tsp. onion powder 

2 tsp. garlic powder 

1 tbsp. white sugar 

2 tsp. salt 

1 1/2 tsp. black pepper 

1 tsp. cayenne pepper, or to taste 

1 tsp. dried oregano 

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg 

3/4 tsp. ground cumin

Mix all spices in a container that has a lid and shake vigorously until well combined. This makes enough to coat six chicken breasts. ( I usually make a large batch of this and store the remaining spice in a zip-lock bag or extra container.  It is a really great seasoning and I use it for other recipes as well.)  You can find the blackened seasoning source here.

Parmesan cream Sauce:

2 cup milk

3 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese 

2 tsp Blackened seasoning mix

Start with preparing chicken; clean it, split lengthwise, generously sprinkle with spice mixture on both sides to coat then set aside. You can blacken your chicken (the correct way) on the stove but we just grilled it on the grill until it is cooked through. Boil water to start cooking noodles according to directions on package. While noodles are cooking, start on sauce. In sauce pan, melt butter and add blackened seasoning. Saute mushrooms in butter. Pour in full 2 cups of milk except 2 tbsp. While butter milk mixture warms on medium high heat, mix 2 tbsp flour and 2 tbsp milk until there are no more lumps. Add to milk and butter mixture and stir frequently to avoid scorching. When thickened slightly 

add baby spinach to sauce until wilted. Pour sauce over noodles, and remove chicken from grill. Place scored blackened chicken on top and garnish fresh Parmesan cheese.

*Serves 4-6