Asparagus, Tomato and Chicken pasta

I apologize for the lack of posting lately, but April is my busiest month of the year. We are going to so many bike races that take up our entire weekend that I have had no time to even go to the store, let alone meal plan! So far, we've been to San Diego & Santa Ynez/San Luis Obispo, and this weekend, we're headed to Monterey for a really big race. After that, we have yet another Santa Ynez race. I'm trying to keep up with posting one new recipe a week, but we'll see if I'm able to pull that off as the rest of the month gets even crazier!

This was a meal that I came up with on my own because I was missing going out to dinner and wanted to make something that was better than what I could order out. I love pasta & chicken, and asparagus is one of my favorite veggies (and in season right now, yay!), so I came up with this dish. It was good, and the pictures came out great, but I have to agree with my husband that there was something missing here. I'm not sure whether it was more herbs, spices, or another flavor layer, but I need to tweak this one a bit in the future to make it perfect. Nonetheless, it was a good basic recipe and I look forward to making it good enough to replace going out soon!



Asparagus, Tomato and Chicken Pasta Toss (by me!)
12 Oz Boneless Skinless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
1/2 bunch asparagus, trimmed of woody part and chopped into 1-1.5" pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 Tbs Olive Oil
1/2 cup nonfat milk
1/2 cup fat free 1/2 & 1/2
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 Cup grape tomatoes
1/4 cup white wine
3 Tbs AP Flour
1 Tbs Butter (or I Can't Believe It's Not Stick)
1/4 Cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese
1/2 lb Whole Wheat short pasta (I used Penne)
Cook Pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, cook onion, garlic & asparagus in 1 Tbs oil until tender. Add tomatoes and cook until they just start to split. Remove to a bowl. Coat chicken pieces in flour, reserving excess flour. Add remaining Tbs oil and cook chicken until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken to bowl. Add Butter and reserved flour and cook about 1 minute. Add wine & scrape up bits from bottom of the pan. Add milk and 1/2 & half while continually stirring. Add Parsley and Parmigiano cheese and stir to combine. Add veggies & chicken and stir to coat with sauce. Pour cooked pasta into sauce mixture and toss well to combine. Makes 4 servings.
Nutrition Info: Calories: 445.3, Fat: 10.1g (Sat: 1.9, Poly: 1.3, Mono: 5.8), Carbs: 57g, Fiber: 7.2g