Lemon Garlic Pasta

So being an expecting mommy with a typically queasy tummy about this time, I have a few tried and true, fast and easy, and nutritious meals I keep under my belt. Tonight, it was warm in my home and even though I have been feeling great, with the warmth I was feeling less than great when it came time to prepare dinner. So I dug into my fridge and pantry to find inspiration and into my memory to find a recipe.

We always have cooked boneless skinless chicken in the fridge. Ever since Mr. T started eating healthier we cook 3 lbs of chicken 2 times a week and then it is ready made for salads or in my case protein without the cooking smell. It has been a blessing always having cooked food on hand. Granted someone has to cook it, but I can cook it if I don't have to eat it immediately after. We also had some cooked carrots left over from Easter, I cooked too many, but we like carrots around here so they are getting eaten every day. The cupboards are a bit bare as I haven't been to the grocery in...a while. We did have a box of macaroni...inspiration hit.

To the fridge where I pulled the minced garlic, butter, and lemon juice. I was ready for dinner.

To make this you really only need some kind of pasta, lemon juice, and garlic. The butter can be substituted with oil, the chicken can be substituted with shrimp, and the carrots can be substituted with any veggitable really. Here we go.

Lemon Garlic Pasta
1 c. cooked cubed boneless skinless chicken breast
1-2 c. sliced steamed baby carrots
1 Tblsp. parsley finely chopped
1/3 c. butter OR 1/3 c. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tblsp. minced garlic
1 Tblsp. lemon juice
1 lb. pasta (whole wheat works very well with this)
salt and pepper to taste

Boil water, add pasta, cook according to directions. In large pan melt butter (or heat oil), I use butter because I like it. Add garlic, let it brown a bit, then add carrots, cubed chicken, parsley and salt and pepper. Saute 3 minutes or till hot. Drizzle lemon juice over ingredients. Cook 2 minutes more. Drain pasta. Combine drained pasta and lemon garlic mixture. Enjoy!

My children LOVE this, and even if they didn't I would still make this because I love it. It only takes as long as it takes for water to boil and pasta to cook. Fresh raw ingredients can also be used, they just add to the cook time. I like it best when I substitute shrimp for the chicken and add chopped broccoli to the carrots. Lime juice can be substituted if you want to try this with beef, it is also a nice combination.

This basic recipe lends itself to many ingredients, is an easy leftover solution, and it is delicious.