- 3/4 pd bow tie pasta, or pasta of your choice
- 1 cup frozen peas ( or 2 cups cooked broccoli florets)
- 2 tbl. all - purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tbl. salted butter
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese - in the green can
- 3/4 tsp salt (seems like a lot, but not salty)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 pd lean sliced ham, cut into slivers
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boiling for pasta. Add pasta; cook 12 minutes, or until firm, but tender. Add peas for last 3 minutes of cooking. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water; drain pasta.
Meanwhile, shake together flour and milk in a jar with a tight fitting lid until blended. Heat butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic; saute 1 minute. Whisk in milk mixture. Simmer 3 minutes. Whisk in cream cheese, 2 tbl. parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Simmer, whisking, 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Toss together pasta, peas or broccoli, sauce and ham in large bowl. Add 1/4 -1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water, tossing to make creamy sauce. Top with remaining parmesan. Serve hot.
