Now that the entire household has run through the flu, and I have thoroughly disinfected the house, I was actually able to cook a real dinner for the family! I had purchased some fresh veggies on my big trip to the grocery store almost 2 weeks ago! Since we’ve all been sick I haven’t had the opportunity to use them, so I was a little bit concerned that they would need to go to the rabbit. I had a thought: Bow Tie Pasta Primavera.
I checked them over and they were all (surprisingly) still really good! Although, the green beans were not quite as crisp as I like them. The peppers, mushrooms and asparagus were all great.
So, I pulled out a recipe that incorporated all of those, except the green beans. It’s from a recipe book that I have had for twenty years called The Healthy Heart Cookbook. It is a low sodium, low calorie, low cholesterol cookbook.
It is a pasta recipe called Bow Tie Pasta Primavera. It’s a recipe that the whole likes, and since it’s meatless it is a big bonus!
I served it with the green beans, which I roasted in the oven with almonds, brown sugar, low sodium soy sauce and olive oil.
It was a great return to the kitchen! I am really looking forward to getting back into full swing!
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do.
Bow Tie Pasta Primavera
Ingredients
- ½ pound fresh asparagus spears
- 2 large carrots scraped and sliced diagonally
- Cooking Spray
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 c sliced fresh mushrooms
- ½ c chopped onion
- ½ c chopped red pepper
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 8 ounces bow tie pasta uncooked
- 1 T margarine or light butter
- 1 T white flour
- ¾ c skim milk
- ¼ c no-salt chicken broth undiluted
- ¼ c plus 1 T freshly grated parmesan
- 1 T fresh parsley chopped
- Ground pepper
Instructions
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Snap off tough ends of asparagus. Remove scales from stalks, if desired. Cut spears diagonally into 1-inch pieces.
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Arrange asparagus and carrots in a steamer over boiling water. Cover and steam 10 minutes or until crisp tender. Set aside.
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Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; add oil. Place over medium heat until hot. Add mushrooms, onions, red peppers and garlic; sauté 3 – 5 minutes, or until tender. Set aside.
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Cook pasta according to directions, omitting fat and salt. Drain well and set aside.
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Melt butter in a small, heavy saucepan over low heat; add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk and chicken broth to mixture, stirring constantly. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly.
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Combine steamed vegetables, mushroom mixture, and pasta in a large bowl. Add sauce, ¼ c parmesan cheese, and remaining ingredients; toss well. Transfer to a large serving bowl and sprinkle with remaining 1 T parmesan cheese.
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Serve warm
Recipe Notes
Yield 8 - 1 cup servings
Fat 4 (saturated 1.2) / carbohydrate 28.1 / Cholesterol 3 / Sodium 189
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