Recipe: Chicken Ham Mushroom & Pea Pasta Toss

This recipe for chicken, ham, mushroom and pea pasta toss is one I have made many times over the years.

One of the jobs I had was in a building that had a large cafeteria in the basement that was run by the Marriott.

Every once in a while they served a “Pasta Toss”…. You got to choose your ingredients…. from things like chicken, ham, Italian sausage, a variety of vegetables, (broccoli, peppers, onions, chopped tomatoes, zucchini etc) and choose your pasta…then you usually had a choice of a couple of sauces. Sometimes… it was without sauce and just tossed with a garlic oil…. the lunches were excellent.

They would toss the ingredients in a skillet with a little garlic oil and to heat it (the ingredients were already cooked)…. Then they would toss it with a little sauce…. it was delicious….As a result I used to make these Pasta Tosses for supper fairly often. Each time I would change it up slightly.

TIPS

For sauces… if I had time I would make my own… usually a light Alfredo sauce made with skim milk… or a pesto…. or a red sauce…or canned diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and onion…. .and sometimes if I didn’t have time… I admit it… I used Knorr sauce mixes. I actually think they are quite good… and would recommend them if you’re in a hurry…. I always make mine with skim milk rather than whole milk… and use light margarine… so they are pretty low fat.

I made this Pasta Toss up for a quick dinner…. I used the Three Cheese sauce from Knorr…. But you can just leave that out and toss with garlic and olive oil if you like. I mixed the milk and the sauce mix in a measuring cup and poured it in about 5 minutes before cooking finished and serving.

I hope you try it.








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Chicken Ham Mushroom & Pea Pasta Toss Recipe

All you need:

½ lb. pasta (bow ties, penne, rotini or whatever one you want)
2 boneless chicken breasts cut into chunks
1 cup diced ham, deli ham julienned, or prosciutto julienned
1 cup frozen peas
3 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
¼ - ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon garlic butter (or 1 tablespoon butter & 2 tablespoons garlic powder)
1 tablespoon garlic flavored olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 Three Cheese Sauce Mix by Knorr (optional)
1 ½ cups skim milk (optional)
1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)

All you need to do:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.

In a large sauce pan (I used my electric skillet)… melt butter with olive oil over medium high heat.

Add the chicken chunks and sear on all sides.

Add the ham after the chicken has been in the skillet for about 5 minutes.

Add the mushrooms…. Toss to coat with garlic oil and butter.

Cover and cook until mushrooms are cooked but still white. (about 5 minutes).

Add the peas and cover.

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon garlic powder on contents of skillet… stir.

Cook for an additional 5 minutes.

If using the sauce mix…. In a large measuring cup combine the mix and the skim milk… stir with a fork to completely incorporate…

Pour the sauce into the skillet…. And allow to cook about 5 minutes… until sauce thickens… if sauce is still too runny… sprinkle 1 tablespoon cornstarch into skillet and stir… sauce should thicken. Toss with spoon to mix.

Add the pasta and the parmesan and toss to thoroughly coat the mixture.

If not using sauce…. add about 3 tablespoons olive oil (garlic flavored preferred) and toss with spoon to mix.

Add the pasta and parmesan and toss to thoroughly coat the mixture.

Serve hot with a salad and garlic bread.