Light Chicken and Asparagus Carbonara

"This DOES NOT taste like a light meal! I got this out of a Cooking Light magazine and nearly fell in love! It's very creamy and just super easy to make any night of the week. Have dinner on the table in an hour or less! This is absolutely delicious with crusty bread and a green salad!"
 
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Ready In:
1hr
Ingredients:
13
Serves:
6

ingredients

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directions

  • Cook pasta in boiling water 10 minutes or until al dente; add asparagus during final 2 minutes of cooking.
  • At this point, if you don't already have pre cooked chicken, season chicken breasts with salt and pepper on each side. Heat a bit of olive oil in a skillet, and sautee breasts 5 minutes on each side, or until done. Chop chicken into bite sized pieces, and set aside.
  • Drain pasta mixture in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/3 cup cooking liquid.
  • Combine reserved cooking liquid, egg substitute, and milk, stirring with a whisk.
  • Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and onion to pan; sauté 2 minutes.
  • Add vermouth; cook 1 minute.
  • Add cooked pasta and asparagus mixture; stir to combine.
  • Remove from heat; stir in milk mixture, chicken, and cheese.
  • Place pan over medium heat, and cook 4 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring frequently. Do not let it scorch.
  • Remove from heat; stir in parsley, salt, pepper, and bacon. Serve immediately.

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Reviews

  1. The main flavors of this pasta are some of my favorite so I was really excited to try this recipe. After reading the prior comment about the sauce "going chunky", I proceeded carefully. I looked it up on the internet and found that milk is more likely to curdle with higher temperatures and when it is low fat or fat free. Thus informed, I made sure to remove the pan from the heat, and even let it cool slightly before adding the milk mixture. Mine did thicken up after returning to the heat, but it did come out a little curdled looking. Also, the sauce was a little bland. If I made it again, I would probably not use fat free evaporated milk which definitely undermines the "light" aspect of the dish. I think this is one of those types of sauces that the trade off is not worth it. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
     
  2. I'm not sure what went wrong, but this just did not work for me. The flavors were great together, but the sauce didn't thicken up at all, it just went all chunky. I'm going to try it again, and if I can get it to work, I'll give it a star rating.
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

I started cooking just by helping my Mom out in the kitchen as a little girl. I preferred baking over cooking, as I loved getting all into measuring things and stirring. I always got to stir! However in the past 5 years I've been the one responsible for making nightly dinners. At first this consisted of the same 10 or so dishes in a constant rotation, but that quickly became boring and I remembered how much my Mom would complain when I was younger about how she always made the same things and she never knew what new dishes to try! Obviously 20 years ago, Zaar wasn't around! I still cook a lot of the same type of dishes my Mom cooked when we were younger and I try to incorporate as much fresh fruit, vegetables, and herbs into my meals as possible. However Melvin's favorite food of all time is fried chicken so... I make sure he gets a fresh vegetable on the side! My favorite cook book is my staple cookbook which is the old red and white Better Homes Cook Book. My only pet peeve about cooking is bland food! <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/adoptedspring08.jpg">
 
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