Pumpkin, chicken and vege pasta bake

I love a meal that is simple, nourishing and healthy. I love it even more when it uses up my leftovers.
One of the simplest ways to make a tasty pasta dish which is kid friendly is to take leftover thick vege soups and use them as a sauce base for pasta. I really like thick pumpkin soup mixed with macaroni, it tastes delicious alone or with a sprinkle of cheese, it is super creamy and way healthier than the original mac and cheese.

So working on that base i developed this recipe, packed full of veges and deliciousness.

First fry about 400g chicken until fully cooked and add in any veges you have. I added onions, mushrooms, zucchini and spinach.

Once the veges are cooked, add in 3 T tomato paste, 3 T wine (i used white but red would work too), 3T water, 1 t dried thyme, 1/2t salt, 1/2 t pepper and saute together for a few minutes. If you want a creamier pasta, which i did, once you turn off the heat mix in 2-3T of unsweetened yoghurt.

Then combine with the cooked pumpkin pasta (i used about 2 cups), add 1/4C parmesan cheese and put into a oven proof dish. Top with a sprinkle of tasty cheese if you like and bake for 20mins or put in the fridge to cook later in the day.

Doesn't that look tasty? Hard to believe there is so many veges in there, trust me you won't miss all that extra cheese you would usually add to macaroni.

It's great on it's own but i served this with a fresh, crunchy coleslaw with balsamic, lemon dressing for a nice contrast.

Coleslaw - finely chopped cabbage, grated carrot and red onion.

Balsamic, lemon vinegarette

Combine together
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 cloves of finely chopped garlic
2 T olive oil
juice of one lemon

Stir into coleslaw and allow to sit in the fridge for a few hours before serving to let all the flavours blend together.

The perfect prepare ahead meal for weeks like this when i have a sick bubba and craft group nights.

Enjoy! xx Have a great day everyone.