I would truly appreciate it if you could help keep Apple of My Eye running and share this recipe on Pinterest!
Getting photos for this dish was a hassle. For some reason, the sun has been refusing to come out, which left me frustrated when it came to getting good quality lighting. I swear, the clouds were being purposefully spiteful to mock me. Rude.
When I first cooked this beauty up, I had to wait three whole hours to get a bit of sunshine to peak through my window. When I saw it, it was GO GO GO time. Cue the mission impossible theme song, because this girl was on a mission.
And you know what? It was worth it. I completely believe that you eat with your eyes first, and running a food blog sortakindamaybe requires that my photography be up to par. And look! Sparkly parmesan! Juicy chicken! Woohoo! I win!
The beauty of this recipe comes with its simplicity. You take a bunch of fresh and healthy ingredients, throw them together, and you’re bound to end up with something good! Adding a small but tastebud-worthy twist comes with roasting the asparagus with garlic beforehand, giving the dish an extra flavor boost.
And I mean, seriously, could healthy comfort food get any better? Cheesy goodness blended with savory chicken and an extra crunch of texture from the garlic-y asparagus.
So go ahead! Toss that gorgeous emerald asparagus with some chicken, extra garlic (can you tell I <3 it?), cherry tomatoes, onions, and parmesan cheese and you’re in for a healthy meal done in no time at all!
All in all, one big ol’ serving of steamy hot pasta has less that 500 calories and 37 grams of protein! Be kind to your body and satisfy your pasta cravings with this healthy substitute instead of reaching for a calorie and saturated fat-laden alfredo from your nearby pasta joint.
So what are you waiting for? Let’s get eatin’!
“Sparkly parmesan! Juicy chicken! Woohoo! I win!” –> that seems very un-food bloggerish of you. 😉
Forget the pasta and the tomatoes, that asparagus looks good enough to stand on its own!
Um….you know my thoughts on such a dish. Am I crazy to think it a blessing that you had to wait 3 hours to photograph it? cold pasta = amazing. Pasta for breakfast = even more amazing.
Do ittttt.
Ahhh I agree that people eat with their eyes–you’re definitely a photography inspiration! This looks AWESOME. Pasta is definitely a staple for me because it’s so easy to make.
mmm I love it when my parmesan sparkles haha! This recipe looks delicious! I can eat dishes like this all day long and never get sick of them.
I’ve been waiting for this recipe!
Love how it involves simple and fresh ingredients
This looks delicious and the pictures turned out fabulously as usual!
This pasta recipe looks wonderful! It has all my favorite things in one dish! Oh and my husband is a huge fan of asparagus, so I know he’d go crazy for this!
YES you did win! This looks beyond delicious. Pasta, chicken and cheese…there is no way to go wrong with that. Sooo, now I’m craving this and it’s not even 7am. 😉
cant beat a good pasta dish!!
Mmm, looks delish! It’s about time I bring asparagus back into my life:) So cool you’re from California. We (husband and I) did a trip down the Coast last year from SF to LA. What area are you from? I want to move there, btw. Preferably Santa Barbara:)
This looks so delicious! I don’t eat chicken, but it looks like this would have enough flavor even without the meat!
Ummm….*drooling!!!* This looks SOO good!!!!
thanks for sharing this recipe! My husband is a huge pasta lover I can’t wait to try it.
This looks delicious! I’m going to put it in my back pocket for asparagus season!
That’s it. I’m packing my bags and moving to wherever the heck you are! Seriously?! Roasted garlic asparagus chicken spaghetti? That’s made healthy? I can’t even describe my excitement with how amazing this is.
Christine, these pictures are gorgeous! The recipe also looks super yum
That dish has me drooling over here! Now I must use up all my garlic next time I make asparagus!
Bahaha I have no clue about food photography (duh, I only know #selfies) but your pictures always make me jealous that I don’t get to eat your food all day e’rrrrryday!! <3 I can't imagine how intense it got when it was time to photograph this dish!!!
You seriously waited 3 hours to get a picture?! I would’ve eaten the whole pan in that time 😉 this looks ahhmazing, girl! I agree – how can you go wrong with fresh ingredients and pastaaaa?! And garlic 4 lyfe. Just don’t go kissin’ Kyle right away 😉
looks delicious! I pinned for later! thanks and FABULOUS food photography!
You poor thing! Getting the right light for pictures can be a beyotch! Sometimes I end up getting the best pictures when the sun goes behind a cloud, but that depends on how dark it is too. The shots you got look awesome though!!
This looks absolutely mouth watering! I’ve pinned it and can’t wait to try it.
Wow this looks awesome, Christine!
Love it! Made it for dinner last night and it was delicious Christine! A keeper. Thanks for sharing sweetie!
I just want to express my appreciation for this realistic view on nutrition. Too often I see dinner recipes touting themselves as being under 300 calories, or under 200. So at that rate, you’d be eating 600 calories per day? It makes no sense! A 500-calorie dinner is totally reasonable, especially when it looks as delicious and healthful as this! Can’t wait to try it out.
You know what? I’m SO glad you feel the same way! For me, a dinner is “low calorie” if it’s under 600. In my opinion, women need to be more reasonable about what their bodies need to function properly and realize that it’s infinitely more important to actually EAT than to diet their way to skin and bones. I’m pretty sure I’d eat off my hand if I had a mere 200-300 calories per dinner! Thanks for the comment! This made my day