Carino's Spicy Shrimp and Chicken Pasta (Copycat Recipe)

My favorite dish at Carino's is spicy shrimp and chicken. So I was thrilled when I found this copycat recipe. One of my all-time faves! I have posted the recipe for this dish before and it received a lot of great comments. It is so delicious! A family favorite for sure!

from the kitchen of

Sooz Cooks via recipezaar.com

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Ingredients

2 - 8 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced

3 Tbsp butter

20 medium raw shrimp, peeled, tail removed and cleaned

1 c. fresh button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

1 c. sundried tomatoes, sliced

2 green onions, chopped

2 c. heavy cream

1/2 c. romano cheese, grated (Italian blend cheese works great too.)

1 tsp cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

13-16 oz dry penne

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Directions

1. Add the sliced chicken to a saute pan and cook through. When it is cooked, place the chicken on a separate plate or in bowl and set aside.
2. Begin cooking the pasta according to package directions.
3. When the pasta is close to being finished, add butter to the same saute pan used to cook the chicken and melt on medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add shrimp, chicken, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, onions, salt and pepper.
4. Saute the mixture until shrimp and mushrooms are cooked. Shrimp should be pink.
5. When the pasta is finished cooking, drain the excess water but don't rinse it. Set aside. In the empty pot used to cook the pasta, add the cream, Romano cheese, and cayenne pepper. Let the cream reduce by half while stirring frequently.
6. Add the meat and veggie mixture to the sauce and stir together. Add the pasta and stir all together. Serve and enjoy! Makes 6-8 servings.
   

* The sundried tomatoes can be substituted for diced roma tomatoes if preferred. This dish will still be good if items such as the mushrooms or onions are left out. The sauce is awesome! PS Even the cayenne pepper can be left out if you don't like the spicy kick!

** The reason for not rinsing the pasta after draining it is so that starch stays on the pasta. It allows the sauce to stick to the pasta better and helps the sauce thicken up a little bit.

* You can add more cheese to the sauce if you'd like. The last time I made it I added about 1/3 c. more to make the sauce a little cheesier. It was so good!