Saturday, October 23, 2010

Creamy Pasta with Veggies and Chicken

In the continuing quest to try new recipes with the ingredients I already have in my house, I stumbled upon this one. Now everybody has their favorite comfort food. For some it’s chocolate, or homemade mac & cheese, or chicken pot pie, or crawfish jambalya (to each their own, right?). There are always those busy days where you get home and just want your tastebuds to be spoiled, wrapped in warm, delicious extravagance.

As for me, deep into the logistics of the James River Writers Conference – yes, shameless plug: www.jamesriverwriters.org – I just wanted something creamy, full of noodles, and simple. (Yes, observant readers, you’ll also note I’m posting this a few weeks after the conference.)
Be it stress, or a rainy day, or any other excuse for it, I highly recommend the ease and soul-food appeal of this Creamy Pasta recipe.


Ingredients:
2 Chicken Breasts
Pasta (I used penne)
Three handfuls chopped carrots
Four handfuls baby spinach
Two shakes garlic powder
1-½ cup Milk
2 Tablespoons Butter
3 Tablespoons Whole Wheat Flour
2 teaspoons Paprika
1-½ Tablespoon Olive Oil
Salt And Pepper (to taste)
Parmesan Cheese (for Topping)

Whisk together milk and flour in a small bowl. Heat butter in a small sauce pan and add sprinkle a few shakes (to taste) of garlic powder. After the butter has melted, add the milk mixture and whisk thoroughly. Add salt and pepper (to taste). Continue stirring until the mixture thickens. Then remove from heat and set aside.

Cut chicken into 1 inch cubes. Season chicken with salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder.
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta.

Heat drizzle of oil in a pan and brown the chicken until cooked through. Once the chicken is cooked, remove from pan and cover.

In the same pan, drizzle oil and then add carrots and spinach. Cook the veggies for a few minutes until tender. Then, remove from the heat.

In a large bowl, combine pasta, chicken, veggie mixture, and cream sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese before serving.

Happy cooking!
-KSP


(Click here for printable recipe)

1 comment:

  1. I did this again, but tossed in frozen mixed veggies instead. Still awesome.

    ReplyDelete