Chicken and Prawn Pasta

I have nothing remotely interesting to say today, so I figured I'd let the survey speak for me. 

15 Short & Simple Questions – totally and completely stolen from Jessie

Favourite ice cream flavour? I don’t eat ice cream. Sorry!

Favourite dessert? Oh, this is so hard. Probably molten lava cakes and things in that realm. Or sticky date puddings. Or apple pies/crumbles/tarts/strudels, etc.

Favourite meal? What? Chose one? Well, I suppose it is pasta. I eat it every week, without fail. I eat different types of pasta, but I do eat it every week.

What did you major in? I used study Law and Creative Writing (a double degree) but didn’t like either, so now I study Journalism.

Who is your best friend? Ugh, this is such a hard and unfair question. My Mum probably. I was thinking of literal friends and not family, and I couldn’t pick a best friend. But then I thought of my Mum. So yeah, my Mum.

Do you have any siblings? One brother, younger and about to graduate high school and join me in Brisbane! It’ll be great to have someone down here all the time.

Single or taken? Single.

Favourite TV shows? Oh, this is such a hard question. This will be a long list, so prepare yourself. Doctor Who, Sherlock, Robin Hood, Merlin, The Inbetweeners, Community, Friends, Lie to Me, That 70’s Show, How I Met Your Mother, The Mentalist, Pretty Little Liars, Smash, Once Upon A Time, Melissa and Joey... and that’s about all I can remember at the moment.

Where have you travelled? I’ve done most of the Australian states (with a couple of exceptions) and a few countries in Europe. I can’t wait for this summer, where I finally get to go to America. East Coast here I come :)

Do you work out? Yep. Most days. At the moment working on strength training.

Currently reading? The Tough Guide To FantasyLand by Diana Wynne Jones. She is brilliant, and the book is hilarious. It’s pretty much about clichés in fantasy writing. She acts like fantasyland is an amusement park or tour and the ‘Management’ (ie the author) takes you on a tour.

Pets? No. Never really had pets either. We had guinea pigs when I was a kid, but Shaun used to let them escape, or dogs ate them, or Shaun’s guinea pig attacked mine and left him blind. Yes Shaun, I blame you for this.

Hobbies? Reading, writing, shopping, tennis, watching movies and tv shows, running, baking, blogging.

Mac or PC? This is something about me that my family knows very well. I hate Macs. I love PCs. I will never give up my PC.

Staples in your kitchen? Oatmeal, chocolate chips, bananas, milk, bread, pasta, yoghurt, strawberries.

Past jobs? Fruit picker. Such a fun job. And I worked at Grill’d (a burger place) for like a month. I have a newfound respect for everyone who works in the hospitality industry. Good for you guys. 

***

And now the real reason why you are here - the pasta. I actually could not believe how low in calories this pasta is! I had to double check I had all the information right. It is not only incredibly healthy, and full of protein, but also deceptively easy to make. Ignore the long ingredient list and the long directions - I swear it is one of the easiest things on this blog. It makes a fantastic week night dinner. Simple, easy and delicious. The very motto of this blog.

The prawns, if cooked through, are succulent and juicy. The chicken is tender. The vegetables are soft and melt gently into the pasta. I swear by this pasta - it has been made several times already and will be made several more before I go home to my prawn-detesting family. The pictures just don't do it justice. Also, a note about the pictures, I actually ate mine with wholemeal pasta, but the pictures of regular white pasta because, well, I inhaled mine while I was taking the pictures.

Level of Difficulty: Deceptively easy

Average Cost: $

Main Ingredients: prawn, chicken, whole meal pasta

Menu Options: I wouldn’t actually change too much with this recipe. I would recommend trying this recipe first as is.  

Serves 2 – 4, depending on serving size (nutritional values based on serving 4)

What you need:

-          500 g wholemeal pasta (spaghetti works well, and is what is used for the pictures)

-          1 tbsp olive oil

-          200 g shrimp

-          1 chicken breast, cooked (baked or grilled preferably)

-          ½ cup chicken broth

-          1 tsp lemon juice

-          ½ zucchini

-          1 tomato

-          ½ cup spinach

-          ½ cup mushrooms (I used baby bella)

-          Fresh basil, to serve

-          Fetta cheese, to serve

What to do:

In a large saucepan, cook the pasta according to package directions or until soft. It should take around 20 minutes for the pasta to be perfectly soft.

In a large frypan, heat the oil over high heat. Once hot, cook the shrimp in the oil. It should take around 15 minutes over high heat.

Once the shrimp is perfectly cooked, place aside. In the remaining oil (and add more if necessary), cook the zucchini, tomato and mushrooms. Cook for approximately five minutes over medium-high heat.

Add the chicken broth and lemon juice and cook the vegetables for another 2 minutes. Add the spinach for the final minute, so the spinach is wilted properly.

Once more, add the shrimp and cook for another minute so the shrimp is hot once again.

Drain the pasta and add the vegetables and prawns. There should still be broth in the saucepan so when the pasta and prawn mixture combines the pasta soaks up the remaining moisture from the pan.

Shred the chicken breast and add to the pasta.

Serve the pasta while hot, with fresh basil and fetta cheese. 

P.S. Any TV shows you can suggest would be welcome. I need something new to watch.