Cooking Steps

• Season the chicken thighs (or chicken breasts) all over with a good pinch of salt, pepper, and ½ teaspoon of cumin. Set the chicken aside for now.
• Combine half and half, garlic cloves, honey, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce from the canned chipotles, and a pinch of salt in a small blender or food processor. Blend until totally combined, then set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Cook the chicken for 3-4 minutes per side (depending on thickness) until cooked through and the internal temperature registers 165 F. Transfer the chicken to a clean cutting board and cover with foil.
• In the same pan the chicken was cooked in, add the chopped yellow bell peppers and chopped onions with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Cook for 5-6 minutes until softened, stirring every now and then to incorporate any browned bits from the bottom of the pan into the vegetables as they cook.
• At this time, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Pour in the dried noodles, stir them around, and cook according to package instructions, minus about one minute for al dente pasta.
• Once the peppers and onions are mostly softened, toss the chopped asparagus into the pan with them. Cook, stirring every so often, for 3-4 minutes until the asparagus begins to soften.
• Pour the chipotle cream sauce into the pan with the vegetables. Stir to mix in the vegetables, then cook for about 5-6 minutes until the cream sauce has thickened. While the cream sauce cooks, cut the cooked chicken into bite-size pieces.
• Transfer the cooked pasta to the pan with the cream sauce and stir to coat the noodles completely with sauce.
• Add the chopped chicken, parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and a touch of salt and pepper to taste. Stir to thoroughly combine all ingredients and coat the noodles and chicken with chipotle cream sauce. Add about ¼ cup of reserved pasta water and stir to mix it in. To make the sauce creamier, stir in more pasta water until it reaches your desired consistency.
• Serve hot and garnish with chopped green onions and more parmesan cheese.