Saturday, April 18, 2009

Tastey, light on the pasta, pasta dish...

So, I love pasta but I know that I shouldn't be eating a ton of pasta while I'm trying to lose weight (even whole wheat pasta). So, I've been trying to make heart dishes with pasta that have lots of other ingredients so that I don't have to eat as much pasta to be satisfied. Now, I know that you Smith girls are a little bit picky and I know for sure that Jenny doesn't like shrimp but the shrimp can easily be exchanged with chicken or turkey sausage or left out all together. It's easy to make and the ingredients can be purchased and prepared whenever you want (most of it isn't perishable).

Nicole's Pasta 2:
1 bag frozen broccoli florets
1 cup fresh chopped mushrooms (you can use canned if you prefer)
1/2 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 c. uncooked penne pasta
15-20 frozen fully cooked shrimp
Chicken broth
Corn starch


1. Boil salted water for the pasta. Cook the pasta to your desired tenderness. Drain and rinse.
2. In 2 tbs olive oil saute mushrooms, garlic and onions until the onions are tender. Drain excess fluid. Mix in 1 tablespoon corn starch. Add small amounts of chicken broth and heat to thicken. Add enough broth to get the sauce to the consistency you desire. Add broccoli florets, I always pick out the broccoli tops from the stems (I don't like the stems but if you do feel free to add them). Heat through. Mix in pasta and add shrimp. Cook long enough to just heat the shrimp through, salt and pepper to taste and then serve.

This is a very heart satisfying dish with lots of veggies. You still get the pasta but it's not the most abundant ingredient.

2 comments:

project.100.gone said...

Sounds delicious! You're right, I'll probably add chicken instead of the shrimp. I love anything that gives me broccoli, fresh mushrooms, and onions.

LeAnn said...

Yea, it does sound good, minus the shrimp. Sorry but our mother did not properly introduce us in to most seafood. I like pasta and veggies so it'd be something to try.