Zucchini – Gotta Love it – With Pasta, That is!

The evening I made this I got up in the morning, took a chicken breast out of the freezer to defrost for later, and had every intention of making a great tossed salad with grilled chicken for dinner.  I went to work and there sitting on the table for anyone who wanted them was a bag of zucchini and cucumbers!  The best laid plans quickly changed when I saw the zucchini.  I took one in hand, as mine are not ready to be picked yet, and dismissed any ideas of yet another salad for dinner (I’ve been averaging 3-4 large dinner salads a week from my garden lettuce).  I was trying to decide what I was in the mood to eat now that I had changed my plans and I came up with PASTA!  Go figure?! Ha  Ha

I found a recipe that sounded good and improvised on some of the ingredients with vegetables from my garden.  The end result was spectacular … so fresh … so good … so eat your zucchini now!  ENJOY!

Ingredients:
-12 oz penne pasta
-1 tsp olive oil
–3 cloves garlic, diced
-1 zucchini, chopped
-garlic sea salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
-1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
-3/4 cup chicken broth
-1 lb chicken, grilled and cut into small pieces
-1 red pepper diced
-3 cups fresh swiss chard
-3 oz light cream cheese
-1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
-1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place pasta in the pot and cook for 8-10 minutes, until al dente. Reserve 1/4 cup pasta water. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until tender. Add the zucchini , red peppers and season with the garlic sea salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook for 10 minutes, until tender (do not over-cook).
3. Stir in the chicken broth and reserved pasta water  into the skillet and cook for 5 minutes, until heated through. Add the chicken, swiss chard, and cream cheese. Stir to combine, until the swiss chard wilts and the cream cheese melts.
4. Mix the pasta with the zucchini mixture and stir to mix well. Top with fresh basil and Parmesan cheese just before serving.

Adapted From:  thesweetslife.com