creamy penne with chicken & shrimp

Creamy white sauce is very versatile! You can add tomato ketchup to make it tomato creamy sauce, or add pureed spinach to make spinach creamy sauce. You can make in big batch and keep them in the freezer. I will share with you more recipes using this white sauce later on. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

[White sauce]

Onion - 1 (small)
Butter - 7 TBS
Flour - 1/3 cup
Milk - 2 cups
Chicken broth - 1 cup (you can use water or more milk if you are out of broth)
Salt & pepper to taste

Thanks to my wonderful sister's suggestions, adding Parmesan Cheese to the white sauce is a great way to add flavor. Thanks, sis! 

[Pasta]

Penne pasta - as much as you need (see TIPS)
Asparagus - 5 stalks, cut in small pieces
Mushroom - 1 cup (sliced/cut in small pieces)
Shrimp - as much as you want (about 1 cup)
Chicken - 1 breast (sliced)

Garlic - 2 cloves (minced) 

[Other optional ingredients you can put]

Bacon
Green/red/yellow peppers (slices)
Salmon

 

Prep: 

1. [White sauce] Chop onion into small pieces.
2. [Pasta] Boil water and cook penne.
3. [Pasta] Prepare vegetables and meat. Season chicken with salt, pepper and paprika. Mince garlic. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cook:

[White sauce]

1. In a pot, melt butter and add onion. Brown onion until brown.
2. Add the flour to the pot all at once. Keep mixing so it won't stick to the pot.
3. Slowly add milk, keep stirring. It should get thicker as you stir. 
4. Add chicken broth slowly. Continue stirring to your desired creaminess (if you want it more creamy, add less milk/broth.)
5. Add salt & pepper to your taste. 

 [Paste]

1. Fry garlic in 1 TBS of butter into a frying pan or wok. 
2. Cook chicken and cook for few minutes - brown both sides.
3. Add asparagus and mushroom. Cook for couple of minutes.
4. Add shrimp. Add salt & pepper (and other herbs). Makt it your 'own' taste.
5. Add penne pasta to the pan. 
6. Add white sauce to the pasta and mix. 

 Serve: 

1. Put the pasta in a bowl, add parsley for garnish or cheese. 
2. For other variations, add ketchup to make it tomato creamy sauce. You can eat it without the white sauce, too. 
3. Serve with salad

TIPS

• Wheat pasta is good for you, but it's somewhat harder than the regular penne. So I usually mix regular and wheat penne together.