Chicken Asparagus Pasta

An original recipe; somewhat related to Bow-Tie Chicken. One of those, “what can I make with ingredients on hand?”, concoctions that I’m fond of creating.

Ingredients

12 oz penne pasta
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 lb fresh asparagus
1 med carrot
1 celery stalk
1/2 med onion
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbs vinegar (I use rice wine vinegar; lemon juice would probably be nice as well)
1 tsp red pepper flakes
salt to taste
1/2 grated parmesan cheese
1 C chicken broth

Preparation

Cut chicken into bite size pieces.
Dice carrot and onion; slice celery; mince garlic.
Break off tough ends of asparagus; trim the tips and set aside. Slice asparagus stalks into bite size pieces.

Mix together chicken, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, asparagus stalks, pepper flakes, oil, vinegar and salt and let marinate for up to 3 hours.

Bring water to boil and cook pasta till al dente.

Sautee the chicken mixture till done; add the asparagus tips and broth a few minutes before finished.

Mix chicken mixture with pasta, stirring in the cheese at this time and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.