Pasta…Oh MY!!

I have been experimenting more with pasta of late. It is a delightful basis for a meal because you can throw odds and ends of what you have in your fridge into a skillet with some garlic and olive oil, and produce an entree that tastes like you just sat down in a nice Italian restaurant.

lemon-spinach-chicken-pasta_

For this latest dish, I wanted a meal that would have great flavor without too much spice. And that also would not use a lot of meat. Here is more or less what I threw together; you could adjust and change amounts and ingredients around to your liking without too much consequence, I am thinking, as long as you keep the basic proportions of sauce to meat/veggies. Do not be put off by what look like at first glance a large amount of ingredients; it is mostly various veggies I put into the dish and then a few liquids thrown in to create a delicious lemon-butter-wine sauce.

1 package (12-16oz) your pasta of choice (I used farfalle, or bow ties)

3 slices bacon (if it fits into your budget, I believe prosciutto would taste even better in this dish)

2 Tbs olive oil

3 cloves garlic

1 green onion

1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced or chopped

1/4 cup marinated artichoke hearts, chopped

1+ cup fresh spinach washed and dried

flour, for dredging chicken

1 chicken breast, cut into small bite-sized pieces

1 cup chicken stock (I make my own, but canned will do fine)

1-2 Tbs butter

1/2-ish cup white wine

lots of lemon juice (I am totally guessing here, but maybe a 1/3 cup?)

freshly ground black pepper

grated parmesan cheese, for sprinkling

Prepare your pasta “al dente” and set aside.

I used my electric skillet for the rest of this dish, but a large stovetop skillet would work well.

Cook your bacon, remove from skillet and set on paper towels to drain.

Remove bacon grease from skillet (I pour it out, then wipe the inside of the skillet with a paper towel).

Now to the skillet, add 1 Tbs of the olive oil and your garlic, stir to slightly cook, and add other vegetables up through the spinach. It won’t take long for these to cook through, maybe about 5 minutes. Remove veggies to a plate or the already used pasta pot till you need them.

Add the other 1Tbs of olive oil, and your flour-dredged chicken to the skillet. After chicken is cooked (about another five minutes) sprinkle a bit more flour into the chicken, and add your broth, butter, the wine, and lemon juice to the skillet. The liquid will thicken into a nice sauce. Crumble your bacon back into this mixture as the sauce thickens. Now add your vegetables back in, sprinkle with black pepper, and stir till everything is warmed and mixed together.

Serve over pasta, sprinkled with your favorite parmesan cheese. Add a glass of wine and salad to round out this wonderful, tummy-pleasing meal!! Mangia!

3 Replies to “Pasta…Oh MY!!”

  1. There is nothing in the world better than lemon, butter and wine. Well, except maybe…avocados. But that doesn’t sound like it would be a good addition to Lemon-Butter-Wine Sauce. Nope.

    Still, thanks for sharing. You have a talent for turning “regular stuff in the fridge” into food miracles. Keep up the good (and tasty) work! 🙂

  2. I have a Cooking Light pasta cookbook that I haven’t really explored yet. Your recipe and ideas may be the motivation/inspiration I need to study up and get creative! And hey, we can always have avocado slices on the side.

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