My Go To Pasta Dish

Making pasta around here isn't the easiest task. Denny doesn't like marinara and I don't really like to eat heavy cream sauces. Don't get me wrong I love the taste of them. I just tend to over do it then I feel full, fat & sick. So it's just best to stay away from them. I can't tell you the last time I had Chicken Alfredo. It's been a while. So when I saw this recipe on Everyday Italian I had to try it out. It seemed like a good happy medium. Of coarse I tweaked it a little to suit our needs. So here is our favorite Pasta Dish.

No Sauce Creamy Farfalle

Ingredients

1 Box Whole Grain Farfalle (Bow Tie Pasta)

1 lb Fresh Mushrooms, thickly sliced

1 Bunch Thin Asparagus, trimmed & cut into 1 inch pieces

3 tablespoons Butter

1 Dash of Garlic Salt

A pinch of freshly Grated Nutmeg

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/2 Cup Chopped Pecans

1 Cup Mascarpone Cheese

1/4 Grated Parmesan Cheese

*Optional*

1 Cup your choice of meat...

Shredded Rotisseri Chicken

Grilled Chicken Breast

Diced Prosciutto Ham

It tastes great without meat, but Denny likes it best with Prosciutto.

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until Al Dente

2. Meanwhile add butter to a large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and garlic powder and sauté until mushrooms are tender and most of the juices have evaporated, about 5 min. Add asparagus (and prosciutto if you choose to use it.) sauté another 5 min.

3. Remove pasta from pot into a large serving bowl saving 1 cup pasta water. Add vegetables. Stir in Mascarpone Cheese until pasta is evening coated. If you feel the pasta might need more moisture then add a 1/4 cup pasta water at a time until you feel like it is moistened enough. It may not need it. Stir in Pecans and nutmeg (If you chose to use Chicken this would be the time to add it). Season with Salt and Pepper to taste and top with Parmesan Cheese. Enjoy!