Savory Creamy Noodles and Veggies

Hmmm....savory huh?  Yeah buddy!  Sometimes you just get in a MOOD where you want comfort food and nothing else will do.  The more creamy and savory, the better.  This dish was born from that desire to eat something hearty but keeping in mind this Mama's super busy schedule and our Flexitarian diet.  Done in 30 minutes and cooked all in one pot- I'll take it!


Savory Creamy Noodles and Veggies

2 large carrots, cut into bite size pieces
1 cup peas
1 cup green beans
1 package noodles, use spaghetti or fettuccine
6 cups liquid *I use milk, water & chicken broth
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/4 cup fresh parsley or 1/2 tablespoon dried
salt & pepper to taste


Step 1:  If you have extra time, go ahead and saute your veggies in a little butter.  Otherwise, just dump all your liquid, spices and veggies in a large pot.  I always use frozen peas and frozen green beans because that's what I have on hand.  You can totally use different veggies but I really like this combo together.

For the liquid- I use a about 3 cups of milk, 1 cup of chicken broth and the rest water.  You can use any combination you like but I have found that you'll need to use more milk than chicken broth or water.  The milk is the secret here.

Dump it all in a pot.

Slowly bring to a boil so you don't scald your milk.

Step 2:  When your liquid is boiling, add in your noodles.  I always break them up into small pieces, makes them easier to eat!  This dish works best with long, flat noodles.  For that reason, I use either spaghetti or fettuccine pasta.  Trust me on this one mmkay....

Small pieces mmkay....

As soon as you add in your dry pasta, turn the heat down to low.  You want to slow simmer this goodness.  You want the liquid to just barely cover the pasta and you'll need to watch this.  If you've got your burner turned up too high, your liquid will be all gone before the pasta has finished cooking.  And nobody wants that mmkay...So if you need to add more liquid as it cooks, this is totally ok!  You just don't want this to become more "soup" like.  The goal here is to have the pasta soak up all the yummy liquid.

Just enough liquid to cover.

Step 3:  Oh wait, there is no step 3.  You're done.  Now eat it mmkay....

A few tips here-

• Adjust your seasonings to your taste.  Not everyone likes poultry seasoning and so I recommend starting with a half teaspoon if you're unsure.  But the poultry seasoning really makes this dish, so just go for it alright!
• Switch up your veggies depending on the season.  Psst....frozen veggies are totally cool.  Do what you need to folks and don't feel bad for using the frozen veg if that's what you've got.
• Makes a great side dish or main meal.  If you're meat people, then add in some chicken breast or something.  I suppose you could also serve this along side some pork chops?  But what do I know, I haven't eaten a pork chop in almost 20 years.
• You can easily make this dish vegan by leaving out the milk and of course substituting the chicken broth for veggie broth.  Just use more veggie broth to add to the "hearty-ness" of the dish.

Dude.  How easy is this!?!