Of Food And Love: Veggie and Pasta Dinner

Over the weekend, I did something I had never done in my entire life — I ran 15 miles.  Now, when you run for long periods of time your mind does things like imagine pools of water (especially during the summer) that you’re swimming in, or ice cubes, or a massage chair.  At least, that’s what my mind does.

But give me an hour and all I can think of is food.  Food.food.food.food.  Like, seriously.  It’s bad.

So, Saturday, of course I didn’t have time to properly recoup.  I showered, and ran straight over to watch my little boy play his first soccer game!  (it was a 40 minute drive, too)  By the end of the game, I could have eaten the plants.

I decided that I wanted veggies and pasta for dinner.  I rummaged around in my recipes and found a great oldie, but was unimpressed that it called for frozen veggies, so I modified it, made the veggies fresh and added onion.  Enjoy this super easy and delightful recipe adapted from an old Easy Everyday Cooking recipe card.

I bought a head of broccoli, separated it, chopped up about a 1/3 cup of onion and then grated a large carrot.

onion not pictured

Setting my veggies aside, I took two breasts of chicken, cubed them and cooked them in olive oil with some garlic, a dash of salt and a little pepper.

Removed the chicken, added more olive oil and sauteed my veggies ( I also threw in some more garlic)

This dish comes together so easily and quickly.  And before you know it, dinner is ready.  Everyone loved it.

Ahh, carbs, a runner’s dream

Veggie and Pasta Dinner (adapted from Easy Everyday Cooking)

2 Tb olive oil divided

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed

1 large carrot, shredded

1 head of broccoli separated

1/3 cup of onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

12 oz vermicelli

2/3 cup chicken broth

1 tsp dried basil

1/4 grated Parmesan cheese

01. Heat  1 Tb olive oil and add chicken, garlic a dash of salt and pepper.  Cook thoroughly.  Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels.

o2.  Heat remaining oil and add all the veggies and garlic.  Meanwhile, start the water for the pasta.

o3.  Cook pasta.  While the pasta is cooking, add the chicken broth and basil to the veggies, stir to combine.  Return the chicken to the skillet and heat, simmering for 4 minutes.

o4.  Drain pasta.  Serve and top with chicken and vegetable mixture.

Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top!

**note:  this recipe can be made vegetarian, by removing the chicken and using vegetable stock instead of chicken broth.