Pasta with White Beans and Broccoli

Now that we are going to be living off of a considerably lower income, we need to change our consumer ways. We used to just go to the grocery store, and see what looked good. I was also really bad at just grabbing stuff, that I had no idea when I would be using it. We are now trying out a "two week plan". The plan is to make a menu plan to last two weeks, go to the grocery store, and only buy what is on our list. I then realized it would be beneficial to keep track of these meals to remember what was liked or hated. Our first night of this plan was Pasta with White Beans and Broccoli.

Ingredients:

1 pound pasta (original called for bowtie, but we used penne)

1 Tbls vegetable oil

1 bunch broccoli

1 Tbls minced garlic

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups cooked diced ham (original was no ham, so if using ham may want to use water instead of chicken broth)

1 15oz can cannelloni or white beans

1 tbls fresh lemon juice

1/4 to 1/2 grated Parmesan cheese (since I am currently dairy/soy free we did not use the cheese)

16 oz bag frozen corn (did not use)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions

2. While Pasta cooks, heat oil in large nonstick skillet. Add broccoli and garlic stir over medium heat 3-4 mins until broccoli is bright green. Add broth ( or water) and cook 2-3 mins or until broccoli is crisp tender. Stir in diced ham,beans and lemon juice.

3. Drain pasta and place into warmed serving bowl. Add broccoli mixture, sprinkle with cheese, toss to mix well.

This is where we stopped, but if you were to use corn, you would now cook corn according to instructions and add.

We were not quite sure what to do with the water, since we didn't want it to be soupy, so we just used a slatted spoon and scooped the mixture onto the noodles.

Rating:

I loved it

Phillip liked it

Hunter did not like it (not surprising, as he does not eat anything lately)