This recipe actually came from the most recent copy of Vegetarian Times although I’ve made a few changes to it. It’s photo was the magazine cover and looked really good. As I read the recipe I realized that it was listed under an article for meals with 5 ingredietns or less. I love that type of recipe but I always end up adding extras. It’s still a really simple recipe and has a lemony creamy taste.

Now I’ve got to be honest and tell you that I’ve made much better recipes and when we ate it for dinner we thought it was a good weekday meal but nothing fabulous. Sunday I took a container of it to work for lunch and was pleasantly surprised at how well it lasted and reheated. It made me like this even more. Following the recipe as written it was a little to thick and sticky. I fixed this by adding a little fat free half and half until it was a creamier consistency. I also added some veggies making it a convenient 1 dish meal. Feel free to add in or remove whatever veggies you like. I had considered adding some cannellini beans but last minute changed my mind. They would have worked fine.

Ingredients

8 oz dry linguine cooked according to directions

1/2 cup light cream cheese

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 lemon zested

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Approximately 1/2 cup fat free half and half or milk

Parsley, basil, salt and pepper to taste

12 oz bag of veggies such as broccoli and cauliflower florets

Directions

Cook pasta according to directions, during the last minute or two of cooking toss veggies into the boiling water

Drain pasta and veggies well, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water

In a large saucepan warm cream cheese, olive oil, lemon juice and zest until melted, add seasoning and pasta water

Stir in pasta and veggies and add half and half or milk until desired consistency, add additional seasoning if needed