Angel Hair Spaghetti with Vegetables and Ham

I tried a new recipe for pasta and we really liked it. It didn't take very long to prepare. I will give you the original recipe, then I will tell you how I changed it!

(Photo and original recipe from Land O'Lakes. Comments and adaptation by LaVee.)

8 ounces uncooked dried angel hair pasta
1 (16 oz.) pkg frozen vegetable combination (broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh garlic
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon instant chicken bouillon granules
1/2 aeaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1 cup light sour cream
8 ounces cooked ham, cut into julienne strips
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta and vegetables according to directions, drain; keep warm.
Melt butter in 2-quart saucepan; add garlic. Cook 1 minute over medium-low heat. Stir in flour; continue cooking and stirring until smooth and bubbly about 1 minute. Stir in milk, bouillon granules, dry mustard and basil. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until sauce is thickened (4-6 minutes). Stir in sour cream; continue cooking, stirring, until heated through (2-3 minutes)

Remove from heat; stir in ham and vegetables. (I put it back on the burner to warm the ham and vegetables again.) Serve over hot cooked pasta. Serve with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Yield: 6 servings


Now how I did it: I used only 4 ounces pasta (as there is only the two of us), and the vegetables were different. I used carrots, celery and green beans. I put the sliced carrots and celery in a small saucepan, covered them with water and brought them to a boil and boiled for 7 minutes, drained and kept them warm, and added green beans to come to 12 ounces. I kept the sauce as directed, except I added minced onions to the butter and simmered until softened, then added the flour and followed the directions. For the bouillon granules I used 1 teaspoon of my "Better than bouillon" soup base. For the ham, we had purchased a 1 pound sliced ham package. When we came home we cut the slices in half and put 6 half-slices into separate freezer bags, placed them in a gallon freezer bag and froze them. So I used one of the bags of 6 half-slices to make the julienne strips. I added salt and pepper to it to blend the flavors a little bit more. The light sour cream was the nonfat sour cream.