Con-Artist Cooking

We had asparagus on Easter.  I'm copacetic to asparagus.  Sure, the next day I nearly have a heart attack when I go to the bathroom and I'm quite sure I'm dying (what is in asparagus that gives your wee the death factor??), and sure, it's not a starchy vegetable, so it's like a red-headed step-child to me, but I wouldn't pass it by on a buffet line.
But Andrew would.
He did take a no-thank-you bite of it on Resurrection Sunday (which is more than he did when I made split-pea soup that week with the hambone...), but he didn't go back for any thank-you bites.
So tonight I did what any good wife (or mother of a toddler) would do...I hid the asparagus.  Casserole-style.
And he gobbled it up.
Because his eyes don't know what his belly like.
His belly like asparagus.
I hid it in this easy, nothing-really-homemade-about-it casserole.

Here we go:

3 chicken breasts, cut up into small chunks
Olive oil
1 red pepper, diced
1 lb asparagus (how you gonna hide 1 pound of asparagus from someone?  Cut it in half and let them assume it's green beans.  Suckahs!)
1 box Cavatappi (fantastic note:  when I tried to spell-check Cavatappi, the alternative word was "catnapping.")  Penne or any other shapey pasta could work, too.
2 containers of Philadelphia Cooking Creme (I used the Italian Cheese and Herb)
Italian blend cheese (handful...that's what I had left in our cheese drawer)

Heat large non-stick skillet to medium heat.  Add a swirl or two of olive oil.  Add chicken chunks and brown.  When the chicken is almost done, add the diced red pepper and asparagus (I cut off the ends of the asparagus, but you can just hold the tip end and break off the end-end and it will naturally break off the tough part.  That is the worst explanation of how to trim asparagus ever.  Look it up online...I'm sure it's more coherent.)  Cook until the veggies are a little soft...you still want some crisp to them, but not a raw-veggie taste.  Add one container of cooking creme and stir to combine.
While the chicken is cooking, cook your pasta according to the package directions.  Drain and return to your cooking pot.  Add the chicken mixture to the pasta, along with the other container of cooking creme, and stir to combine.  Pour into a 9x13 pan, cover with a handful of the Italian blend cheese, and broil (I set my broiler to low and put my oven rack on the 2nd to last spot) until the cheese is brown in spots and it starts to look like Pizza Hut takeout.

He was picking asparagus from the dish to eat on purpose!

Serve with Hannaford's finest garlic bread.  Don't serve with the leftover salad your asparagus-loving husband has claimed for his lunch the next day.

Try sneaking in veggies that your family doesn't typically eat.  Cut up small enough, doused in sauce and cheese, and tucked behind some twirly pasta, they won't even notice.  It's con-artist cooking at its finest!