Grilled Chicken Pasta with Asparagus and Lemon Sauce

No picture of the final project!

This was a, "Let's see!  We need dinner."

As in, tonight!

My cherubs prefer it when I feed them on a regular schedule.

It keeps them happy

and me happy too!

Here's what I had in the refrigerator:

chopped onions

asparagus

cherub tomatoes

grilled chicken that I had cubed up

Here's what I had in the pantry:

pasta

Here's what I ended up with:

Grilled Chicken Pasta with Asparagus and Lemon Cream Sauce

1 tablespoon butter

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup chicken broth

1 teaspoon cornstarch

3 oz cream cheese, cubed

2-4 tablespoons lemon juice (2 is light, 4 is bright!) 

1/3 cup heavy cream (or evaporated milk)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pasta

olive oil

grilled chicken

asparagus

chopped onion

(notice, I didn't use tomatoes!  I just kept them in the refrig!)

Boil pasta according to package directions.

In a large pan, saute onions in olive oil, until desired tenderness. 

I caramelized my onions because I wanted the sweetness with the pasta.

Clean asparagus and cut into large bite-sized pieces.

When the onions have cooked to your preference,

add the asparagus in and do a quick-stir cook, 3-4 minutes.

Toss in the cooked chicken and heat thoroughly.

For the Sauce

To the 1 cup of broth,

add 1 tsp. of cornstarch

Pour the broth/cornstarch mixture, lemon juice, butter and cream cheese into the pan

Stir until melted.

Slowly pour in the cream

Stir until well incorporated and is at a very low simmer.

Do not boil.

Toss in well-drained pasta

Toss to coat and serve while hot.

Please notice, there are no amounts on the pasta, chicken, asparagus or onions.

Use what you like!

I had a bit of chicken, a large bundle of asparagus, and 1/2 of an onion.

I used 1/2 a box of pasta.

It worked for us.

The boy cherub said it was "too much lemon but it's delish"

and the Mr. said it was "just right on the lemon."

I used 4 TBSP lemon juice.

I also used low fat cream cheese.