Louisiana Chicken Pasta

This is amazing! I've ordered Louisiana Chicken Pasta at Cheesecake Factory and love it, and I found a copycat recipe for it online at RecipeZaar the other day. I didn't think my hubby would even want me to try it because he doesn't care for alfredo sauce or breaded chicken, and he tried it and liked it! I ordered the dish without all the peppers, onions, and mushrooms in it, so that's how I made it and will post it, but I will include the veggie part as a variation at the bottom. I don't think it tasted just like the dish at Cheesecake Factory, but I think it was just as tasty and very close! Soooo yummy!!!

Ingredients
Chicken
4 Tbsp or more vegetable or canola oil (for frying)
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (or I cut large breasts into pieces)
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (grated)
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp flour

Cajun Sauce
-3 whole garlic cloves (minced)
-1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or less if you prefer less spicy, or totally omit if you don't like spicy... this did have a bit of a bite to it but not too much that my 2 year old gobbled it up but my 5 year old said it was too hot and needed some milk to drink)
-1 1/4 pints (or 2 1/2 cups) whipping cream
-1 cup low sodium chicken broth (or I used 1 cup water and 1 boullion cube)
-4 Tbsp fresh basil (thinly sliced)
-1 cup grated parmesan cheese
-1 (12oz) package bow tie pasta
-salt & pepper to tasteDirections
-Add garlic, crushed red pepper, whipping cream, and chicken broth to medium saucepan. Bring just to a boil, turn down to low and simmer for about 5 minutes.
-Add basil and 1 cup grated parmesan cheese to sauce and stir. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer and reduce sauce while you prepare chicken and pasta.
-Pound chicken breasts until very thin (the thinner the better)
-Heat oil in fry pan at medium high temperature
-Mix breadcrumbs, flour, and Parmesan cheese together
-Place milk in dish for dipping
-Boil a very large pot of salted water to boil to cook your bow-tie pasta
-Dip chicken in breadcrumb mixture and then in milk and then back in breadcrumbs.
-Carefully place a few pieces at a time in hot oil and fry until golden brown and cooked through. Add more oil as needed. Here is where I strayed from the recipe a little.... I am paranoid about salmonella and my chicken breasts were a little thicker than I would have liked, so I put all my fried pieces into a baking dish and cooked at 400 for 15 minutes to make sure they were good and cooked through. If your pieces are thin, you can cut them in half and make sure they are cooked through and skip this step.
-After your bow-tie pasta is cooked until tender but still firm, drain, and return to pot. Pour sauce over top and toss to coat.
-Place pasta with sauce on plate and top with chicken breast.
-Serve with additional parmesan cheese if you like

Variation
Add....
-1 Tbsp butter
-1 small yellow pepper (chopped)
-1 small red bell pepper (chopped)
-3/4 small red onion (chopped)
-1 cup mushrooms (sliced)

- Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add peppers, onion, & mushrooms to skillet, and saute until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes.
-Add garlic, crushed red pepper, whipping cream, & chicken broth to skillet and follow rest of the recipe above.

Another variation I might try next time is using half and half instead of whipping cream or subbing half the whipping cream with milk as well as using reduced fat Parmesan cheese, just to reduce some of the fat content of the recipe. It is absolutely amazing but definitely is not a dieter's meal. I know you have to treat yourself every once in a while though. I felt like I was eating something out of a restaurant. Oh yes, and my 2 year old requested the leftovers for breakfast. :-) Update: I did make this with half and half, and it was just as good. :-)