Garden-Special Primavera

No joke, this is AMAZING. I've been getting in the habit of cooking our lunches on Sunday night so we don't have to think about it at all during the week and stumbled upon this. SO GOOD. Maybe it looks a little intimidating because of all the ingredients but just a couple chops and the rest is super brainless.

Garden Special Primavera [mixing bowl magazine]

6 ounces fresh green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces (2 cups)

1/2 cup bias-sliced carrots

6 oz fresh asparagus, trimmed & cut into 2 inch pieces (1.5 cups)

1 cup broccoli flowerets

12 ounces fettuccine, linguine, vermicelli or spaghetti

1 small red pepper, julienne strips

1 small zucchini or yellow summer squash. halved lengthwise and sliced (1 cup)

1 small onion, cut into thin wedges

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbs butter

3/4 cup chicken broth

3/4 cup whipping cream

2 Tbs all-purpose flour

1/2 finely shredded Parmesan cheese

2 oz prosciutto or cooked ham (1/3 cup)

2 green onions, thinly sliced. (1/4 cup)

2 Tbs snipped fresh basil or 2 tsp dried crushed basil

In a large saucepan, cook beans and carrots in a small amount of boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Add asparagus and broccoli. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and cook 5 minutes more or till vegetables are crisp-tender. Drain.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook pasta according to package directions. Add sweet pepper and zucchini/squash to pasta in boiling water for the last 3 minutes of cooking. Vegetables should be crisp-tender. Drain and return mixture to the sauce pan. Add the bean mixture to teh saucepan and keep it warm while preparing the sauce.

For sauce: In a medium saucepan, cook onion and garlic in hot butter over medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes or until tender but not brown. Stir in chicken broth. Bring to boiling; reduce heat.

In a small bowl, stire together whipping cream and flour. Add cream mixture to saucepan. Cook and stire till thickened and bubbly. Stire in the 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, prosciuto/ham, green onions and snipped basil. Cook and stire for 1 minute more. Pour sauce over pasta and vegetables. Toss gently to coat.