Tis’ the season of cashing in on one’s labor of love…aka the family garden. For some reason my mom’s garden is always plentiful in the zucchini department.
I swear that is all the woman plants.
With that said, she is finding all kinds of ways to incorporate it into her meals/recipes. Breads, Cookies, Cakes, Entrees…the list could go on. I’m waiting for her to create some type of zucchini froyo. Because of the bounty, it is standard that each family MUST take a zucchini following Sunday lunches. Friday I had made Zucchini Cookies from a recipe Danielle pinned on Pinterest. (Only one of the billion gazillion zuchinni recipes to be found as of recent.) Delicious, you ask? They were! However, I did not want to make that with my giant green vegetable. So, I asked the standard – “What exactly am I supposed to do with this?” To which my step father, chimed in – make the pasta-y thing your mom made the other night. (It must have been FaNtAsTiC, considering it was all we heard about Sunday afternoon. AND the step father HATES Italian dressing and anything with pasta, really.)
So, I asked what it was she created and how she went about it. She began to explain this pasta dish using the terms “I did this…” “I threw about this much of this in…” “Oh, I’d say I squeezed about 1/2 a cup in…” Here it was just another creation she happened to “throw” together. She guestimated the amounts of some items and she was spot on. So…
Enter one of the greatest meals I’ve ever made – Zucchini Chicken Pasta.
I promise – you will not be disappointed. The steps, without further ado…
Naturally, you will want to collect your ingredients.
Ingredients: chicken, onion, tomato, Italian dressing, EVOO, spinach, pasta, cream of chicken soup…ZUCCHINI
The first thing that you will want to do is pan fry your chicken with a little EVOO. I did this on a lower temp to ensure that I would not burn the outside of my chicken. While the chicken is sauteing, begin to cut up your vegetables and set your pasta water to boil.
When you have a rolling boil, add your pasta and in the pan that you cooked your chicken, toss in your veggies to saute. I sauteed them as long as my pasta was boiling – approximately 10 minutes. During this time, I also shredded my chicken. If you prefer to eat diced chicken – go for it.
When your pasta is finished cooking, drain it – however, DO NOT forget to save your cup of pasta water.
Once our pasta is strained, return to the pot. Add your sauteed vegetables. Then your can of cream of chicken soup, followed by your chicken, Italian dressing, and cup of pasta water.
Give it a good stir and allow to simmer for about two minutes.
Once it is looking perfectly married, plate this goodness up (top with cheese if you wish) and serve. Husband and dad were thoroughly impressed. The following statement sums it up…”Goodness, this tastes like something you get at Olive Garden!” Seconds were had by all…just one serving for leftovers…and I’m confident that if Husband didn’t have football to run off to – there most certainly would not have been leftovers.
I hope you and your’s enjoys it is as much as we have. Some of the best things Mom has made has been things she has “thrown” together. Ha!
What recipes have you thrown/hidden your zucchini abundance in?
We’re off to visit my best friend and her hubby for the long weekend. It’s their first time meeting Baby B. Hope you have a fabulous Thursday and even better weekend!
-Sami
Zucchini Chicken Pasta
2-3 Chicken breasts, sauteed and shredded
EVOO for sauteing
1 onion
1 zucchini
1 tomato
~ 1 cup of spinach
box of pasta of your choice
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup Italian dressing
1 cup pasta water
Saute chicken in EVOO and shred
Dice up your onion, zucchini, tomato
Saute veggies in same pan you sauteed your chicken
Boil pasta, saving 1 cup of water when boiling is complete
Return pasta to pot. Add sauteed vegetables, can of cream of chicken soup, Italian dressing, and pasta water
Give it all a good stir and allow to simmer approximately 2 minutes
Serve and EnJoY!