Guacamole Pasta

 I picked up 2 huge avocados this weekend. They were as hard as rocks but one is now nice and ripe and ready for eating. My husband will eat them plain with a little salt but I like them mashed as guacamole.  Only problem here is that I can't quite justify eating guacamole alone for dinner so I decided to give Creamy Avocado Pasta another try.

A co-worker recommended Creamy Avocado Pasta a few months back. She raved about it and said her little one typically eats neither pasta nor avocado, but eats this up so happily. Several others also said they loved it too so I jumped on the bandwagon too. Guacamole meets pesto meets pasta, why not?

The first time I made it, I added some leftover rotisserie chicken and some frozen green peas. It was missing something. The second time, I added bacon because everything is better with bacon. And this time, I just made guacamole and mixed in pasta. Score!

Guacamole Pasta

adapted from In Good Taste

Ingredients:
1 large sized ripe Avocado, pitted
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/8 t crushed garlic
2 shakes Tabasco sauce
1/2 t kosher salt, or to taste
1/8 t black pepper
2 t chopped basil
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lb chicken, cooked & diced*
1/2 lb whole wheat rotini

Parmesan cheese, optional
* Rotisserie chicken would work well here, but I didn't have any, so I defrosted and diced up some trusty dusty chicken tenders and stir fried it with some salt and pepper.

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to the directions on the package.  Reserve 1/2 cup cooking liquid.
2. Guacamole: Smash avocado with lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and Tabasco sauce.
3. Mix pasta, chicken, chopped basil, and guacamole together, adding 1/4 cup of pasta cooking liquid to thin out guacamole.  Add additional cooking water if needed.
4. Add additional salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese if desired.

Enjoy!