Vegetable Chicken Pasta

Vegetable Chicken Pasta

This is a meal I actually made about three months ago when my dad dropped off a bunch of fresh yellow squash and tomatoes from his garden.  I am all about cooking seasonally and with what is on hand.  I don’t often follow recipes perfectly, improvising as I see fit.  Naturally then, I don’t often write recipes with exact measurements.  For this pasta, as with many of my other meals, add and take away ingredients and measurements to fit your own preferences (most of the measurements are guesses in this anyways!)  Perhaps the most important thing is also to use whatever vegetables and things are fresh and in season rather than forcing flavor out of unnatural produce.  I hope you enjoy!

Vegetable Chicken Pasta

Ingredients

1 lb pasta; any shape (12 oz is also enough)

½ lb chicken, cubed (or more to taste)

1 medium onion, sliced

2 medium zucchini, sliced (I used four paddy pan zucchini)

3 or 4 medium carrots, coined (I used orange and yellow)

1 large green bell pepper, large diced

½ lb cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered (or whatever is on hand)

1 small bunch scallions, large diced

1 cup chicken bouillon (I use Better than Bouillon)

2 tbs lemon juice

2 tbs soy sauce

4 cloves garlic, chopped

4 or 5 dried red chili peppers (or more to taste)

Fresh or dried basil

Fresh or dried parsley

Salt and pepper to season

Parmesan or other fresh shredded cheese, optional

Instructions

Prepare the pasta according to the box instructions or your preference reserving the pasta water.  Cube the chicken into ½ inch to 1 inch pieces, and cook in a sprayed or oiled skillet over medium high heat.  Season with salt and pepper (I used garlic salt).

After browning the chicken, add the onions, and cook until barely translucent.  Add vegetables through the tomatoes.  (I usually do all of my cutting and chopping while heating the last add in which gives about the right cook time for each.)

Add the garlic and three to five whole dried chili peppers.  Crush in at least one pepper and more to taste.  The more heat you want, the more crushed peppers you should add.  (I should add a warning here that my husband will not eat the whole peppers, but I will.  Know your heat tolerance.  With only one or two peppers crushed in, even my 10 month old daughter finds this mild enough.)

Add about a cup worth of chicken bouillon using the reserved pasta water as the mix in.  (I am sure chicken stock would work, too, or any bouillon you have on hand as long as you still season to taste.)  Stir in about 2 tbs soy sauce and 2 tbs lemon juice.  I never measure but just pour until it “looks right”.  If you do not use the pasta water, you may want to add corn starch or flour as a thickener.  Otherwise, heat through until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through. (This shouldn’t take very long at this point.)

Stir in the pasta.  You may not use the entire box depending on how many vegetables and things you like in the mix.  If you need more sauce, simply add more bouillon, soy sauce, lemon juice, etc to your liking.  Turn off the heat and add the chopped scallions, basil, and parsley.  Serve hot.  You may also enjoy sprinkling some shredded parmesan or more herbs on the top.

As I said, this recipe is very much alterable to your tastes.  If there aren’t zucchini in season, don’t worry!  Grab some broccoli, asparagus, or whatever else might look good.  Spinach or kale also works great.  Just use whatever healthy dosage of veggies and seasonings you like.  Sorry that none of my measurements are exact.  I never actually pull out a single measuring spoon or cup during this cooking process.  Use your best judgment, and add/take away as you see fit.  Enjoy!