I had originally picked this recipe to make for dinner last week because it looked like it was semi healthy, but then I started cooking it and as the cream cheese melted into this gorgeous white cream sauce I instantly felt guilty. So to make myself feel better I added Parmesan Cheese. Hey, don't judge. I eat my feelings sometimes...so what. But if you want to omit the Parmesan it will still be just as fabulous and you wont feel as guilty as I do right now. Yup.
Chicken, Cauliflower & Mushroom Pasta
Ingredients
12oz box of Vegetable Pasta
2 Chicken Breasts
Fresh Spinach-as many handfuls as you'd like
8-10 Mushrooms, sliced
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 teaspoon of Garlic
1/4 head of Cauliflower cut into bite sized pieces
2/3 cups cream cheese
1/2 cup of Parmesan Cheese
1/2 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 cup chicken broth
Oregano
Basil
Onion Powder
Cayenne Pepper
Salt & Pepper
Directions
Boil 4-6 cups of water for your pasta
While you wait for the water to boil thinly slice the chicken into strip. I typically cut the breast in half then slice from there. It's almost like you get twice as much that way (almost).
Preapare all of your veggies. The spinach is really easy to cut if you roll up a bunch and slice it.
The mushrooms I leave slightly big since it's the kids favorite part of the meal.
And the cauliflower should be a wee bit smaller then bite sized.
Now that you have the prep out of the way lets start cooking!
Start cooking your pasta
Cook the chicken on medium-high heat in about a teaspoon of olive oil. Once cooked set the chicken aside and use the same pan for your veggies.
Start with your cauliflower since it will take the longest to cook, then add in your mushrooms and garlic.
Now it's time for the goodness, the cream cheese. Just plop it in but make sure to turn the heat down so you don't burn it. You want to slowly melt it so it's becomes a creamy sauce.
Slowly add in your chicken broth and stir
Add in all of the seasonings to taste
And lastly your lemon juice, spinach and Parmesan cheese.
You can squirt more lemon juice over your pasta if you find the 1/2 tablespoon isn't enough. It's always better to follow the less is more rule with lemon because you can't take away the lemon juice if you put too much on but you can definitely add more if you'd like to.
Give it all a good stir and stir on top of your pasta, or you can mix it all together to coat your pasta.
Enjoy!
