Chicken, bacon and mushroom pasta

This chicken, bacon and mushroom pasta is tasty, fast and easy on the pocket. Better still you can adapt it to the age of your family. One of my sons is still a toddler and tends to pick out veg, so we chop it up small. You can leave the mushrooms larger if your kids embrace fungi more than my youngest.

Also a few thoughts of how you can adapt this chicken, bacon and mushroom pasta recipe for your family:

No bacon? Try sausage, Quorn or some chopped ham.
No mangetout? Try any veg you fancy. Broccoli florets would work well, as would peas or sweetcorn.
Want to make this ahead? Simply pour into a dish, top with grated cheese and just before baking add 3 tbsp water before baking for 20 minutes at 180C/gas mark 4.
Fancy something a little more decadent? Add 4 tablespoons of double cream or sour cream along with the cream cheese.

This recipe first appeared in Closer magazine online.

Lots of great recipes like this in my books, Recipes from a Normal Mum, (available on Amazon, at The Works, Waterstones, WHSmith, The Book Depository and many smaller outlets) and The Power of Frozen (available through Amazon).

Last year: Finger licking spiced ribs and Baked Bramley apple cheesecakes and Easter biscuit baking kit and My never fail Victoria sponge and Double Decker brownies and Easy pea and ham soup and Coconut and lemon tart.

Two years ago: Weaning flapjack and White chocolate mousse eggs and Easter chocolate nests with biscuit chicks and Lamb, pea and mint pie with rough puff pastry and Homemade Snickers and Spinach, ricotta and sweet potato lasagne and Mother’s Day afternoon tea and Chocolate chip cookies and Lemon and raspberry trifle

Three years ago: Florentine quiche and Flourless chocolate cake and Cadbury Creme Mini Egg chocolate flapjack and School fair rocky road

Four year ago: White chocolate & cranberry hot cross buns and Cadbury creme egg mess and Banoffee pecan mini pavs

Five years ago: Easter Apostles scone loaf and Carrot cake in a cup for Mother’s Day and Cranberry oaty biscuits

Six years ago: Mini chocolate birds nests and Puff pastry and Walnut bread

Chicken, bacon and mushroom pasta

By Holly Bell on 03/21/2017

Yield: 4

Ingredients:

400g fusilli pasta
200g mangetout
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped
150g bacon, roughly chopped
200g chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped
300g cooked chicken, roughly chopped
1 large egg, beaten
3 tbsp cream cheese
1 tsp ground black pepper

Instructions:
Boil the pasta in a large pan of salted boiling water according to the packet instructions. Add the mangetout 2 minutes before the end of the cooking time then drain both the pasta and mangetout and set aside. In the meantime, heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and fry for a couple of minutes until starting to soften. Add the bacon, stir well and fry for a few minutes until cooked through. Add the mushrooms and fry until everything is crispy. Turn the heat down to low and add the chicken. Beat together the egg, cream cheese and black pepper and pour over the bacon and mushroom mixture. Stir for 1 minute, then add the still warm pasta and mangetout. Stir well and heat for a further 2 minutes before serving. (The heat of the pan and the pasta cooks the egg).