Springtime Chicken and Veggie Pasta

So we are really, really trying our best to lead healthier lifestyles. In an effort to try and not only reduce our overall caloric intake, but also to incorporate more vegetables into our diets, we have been trying all kinds of new recipes and creations. We first made this pasta dish a couple of years ago, and while we loved it then, it always kind of slipped our mind when our menu planning was less health-oriented. It is very simple. One of the things I love the most about this dish is that the sauce is so light. It really adds a lot of flavor, but still allows the chicken and the veggies to really be the stars of the dish.

The preparation for this dish can be somewhat time consuming, but it is worth it. If you have a mandolin, now would be a perfect time to put it to use. The idea with this pasta is to have consistency between the general shapes of the long pasta, the vegetables, and the shredded chicken. It really adds to the overall cohesiveness of the dish.

Here are the ingredients you will need to make Springtime Chicken and Veggie Pasta:

-1 lb. chicken, poached and shredded

-1 zucchini, peeled and cut into thin strips
-1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
-1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
-Approximately 15 baby carrots, sliced into thin strips

-4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
-1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
-2 tbsp. reduced fat cream cheese
-1 tsp. McCormick Perfect Pinch Italian Seasoning
-1/2 tsp. black pepper
-1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
-3/4 tsp garlic powder

-Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Begin by poaching your chicken. Once it is cooked, let it cool slightly and rest before you shred it. Start your water for the pasta. While the chicken is cooling and the water is coming to a boil, prepare your veggies. Slice all of the veggies as thin as possible and try to keep the size and shape between all of them as consistent as possible.

After your veggies are cut, heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Just eyeball the olive oil, one or two turns of the pan should be sufficient. Once the oil is heated, add all of the veggies and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cover with a lid to help veggies steam.

Add your pasta to the boiling water.

While your pasta is cooking and the veggies are steaming, combine the chicken broth, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, seasoned salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then add in the Parmesan cheese and the cream cheese. Stir well to incorporate the cheeses into the broth mixture, then reduce heat and let simmer.

As the sauce simmers, shred your chicken into somewhat long and thin pieces, again trying to stay somewhat similar to the shape of the vegetables. Add the chicken to the vegetable mixture and toss all together. Season once again, lightly, with pepper. Reduce heat. Your vegetables should still have a slight bite to them and not be too done.

After your pasta has been cooked al dente, drain and return to large pan. Add the chicken and vegetable mixture into the pasta, then pour the sauce over and mix well with a pair of tongs to combine. Serve immediately- the fresher, the better in this case!

The end result should be a well-mixed, light, delicious chicken and vegetable pasta dish that will not only leave you feeling full and satisfied, but will do so without also leaving you feeling guilty. The combination of vegetables in this dish can easily be interchanged with a variety of others, if you prefer. This particular combination is just what we prefer, but I would like to try it with broccoli at some point in the future. Whatever veggies you choose, this pasta entree just feels like Spring, although I am sure it would be especially delicious in early fall, when so many vegetables are fresh for harvesting. Maybe save this one for a night after you visit your local Farmer's Market and let the selection of veggies there determine what you put in your version.

Speaking of Springtime, it FINALLY feels like it here! For the last month or so, even though the calendar said Spring was here, the weather by no means reflected that. Wind, cold, just all around BLAH. But now, overall, we have sun and are starting to warm up. Jordan is full swing into t-ball, so we are glad that Mother Nature finally decided to cooperate and allow us to watch games without risking hypothermia. He had an especially good game on Thursday at first base. He had several outs, and then hit really well when he was up to bat, too!

 Swinging hard!

Aly and Brooklyn enjoy watching their big brother play, but sometimes I think Brooklyn has more fun playing in the dirt and then waiting for our reactions to her attempts at putting random rocks, mud clumps, and sticks in her mouth. I almost think that, at times, she has no real intention of actually eating them, rather she loves to laugh at our frantic reactions and shouts of "NO!" She is ornery- there is no getting around that!

Here is Brooklyn as the Tent Monster, trying to get her brother and sister during our indoor camping trip on Memorial Day Weekend

Hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend! We have lots of fun outdoor stuff planned tomorrow, and even though some of it is yard work, we are just happy it is finally warm enough we can enjoy being outside!