Mini Penne with Spicy Chicken Alfredo

I got this recipe from my "Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade 20-minute meals" cookbook.   There are so many good looking recipes in this book.  Unfortunately, so ,many of them have way more nasty veggies ingredients that hubby won't eat.  So, I either don't make it or leave so much out that it's no longer Sandra's recipe!  ha.  I hope you'll try this.  It was a nice twist to regular Alfredo.

This sure was tasty.

Mini Penne with Spicy Chicken Alfredo
from Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade 20 minute meals

Ingredients - 

• 8 ounces dried mini penne pasta (can you believe the commissary had the mini?!), Barilla
• 1 jar (16 oz.) Alfredo sauce, Classico
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano, Del Monte
• 1 T. Italian seasoning,  McCormick
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, McCormick
• 2 packages (6 oz each) refrigerated cooked chicken breast strips, Oscar Mayer or Louis Rich
• 1 can (2.25 oz) sliced black olives, drained, Early California
• shredded Parmesan cheese, Kraft

Directions -

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well; return to hot pot.  Cover; keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium sauce pan, combine Alfredo sauce, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes over medium heat.  Stir in chicken and olives.  Bring to a simmer; cook for 10 minutes.
3. Serve hot over cooked pasta. Top with Parmesan cheese. 

Serves - 4

Calories per serving - 566

A few things I wanted to note about how I made this recipe a better fit for me and my family:  

#1 - I used only half the can of tomatoes & chopped them up more in my little food processor (I can stand chunks of tomatoes....well I just can't stand tomatoes).

#2 - I used a little ground red pepper instead of the flakes.  Little Miss won't eat it if she's sees red pepper flakes.  Also, I didn't add so much to it wouldn't be too spicy for her. 

#3 - I couldn't find the chicken strips the recipe calls for, so I just did it the old fashioned way and cooked the chicken myself and cut it into strips.

#4 - I didn't add the black olives in the dish.  Hubby would have spent a good 10 minutes picking around them and Little Miss and I would be nearly finished eating.  ha