Chicken, Sausage and Capers

A few weeks ago, my husband and I bought some pasta from a vendor at our Farmer's Market.  I let him choose the flavor (toasted garlic and onion fettucine), and then got home and was stumped as to what to do with it.

I looked all over online and through most of my cookbooks in order to find something that I thought would work.  I stumbled across this recipe in my Weight Watchers cookbook that I thought had potential. 

I don't usually cook a lot of pasta because I'm allergic to most tomato based sauces.  But I recently have found that there are a few that I can eat through some food trials.  This to me is the closest thing to spaghetti that I've been able to eat since I was a little kid.

Chicken, Sausage and Capers
adapted from the Weight Watchers recipe

¾ lb skinless boneless chicken breasts
¼ lb Italian turkey sausage
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
1 onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ cups canned crushed tomators
½ cup low sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
pasta of your choice

Directions:

1) In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, heat the oil. Saute the chicken until golden and cooked through, 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a bowel with a slotted spoon.  (We grilled both the chicken and the sausage since it was really nice outside).
2) In the skillet, cook the sausage, stirring frequently, until cooked through and browned, 8-10 minutes. Pour in the vinegar; cook until the liquid evaporates, 1-2 minutes. Add the bell peppers, onion, garlic and oregano; cook, stirring, until the peppers are tender, 4-5 minutes.
3) Start boiling pasta.
4) Stir in the tomatoes, broth and capers; bring to a boil. Return the chicken to the skillet and sprinkle in the cheese. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly. (If it doesn't thicken as much as you want, add some cornstarch to the skiillet)
5) Slice chicken and sausage into bit sized pieces and then return to the pan to simmer in the sauce for a few minutes.
6) Garnish with a little extra cheese when serving.

I thought the pasta was amazing.  The pasta was a little weird, but all the ingredients worked together to make a great meal.  The chicken and the sausage had absorbed some of the tomato sauce.  The green bell pepper retained it's crunch and provided a different texture in a soft dish.  My husband said that the canned tomatoes drown out some of the flavors in the dish, but I thought they all worked together great.  We agreed that next time I'll make it with fresh tomatoes instead of the canned ones.