the dinner solution: noodles with ham, peas, spinach & yogurt

yogurt sauced pasta with spinach, ham & peas

There’s a lot to be said for sitting tight and remaining focused on work and crossing things off the to-do (or as I like to call it, the Teux Deux) list. And this month, my list is looooong. So it’s the nose to the grindstone and all of that productivity business, I guess. I’d love a set of octopus arms right about now because that would be kinda cool, dontchya think?

yogurt sauced pasta with spinach, ham & peas

In the meantime, I’ll settle for simple. The call for take out is easy, but I promise that this meal isn’t too much effort. This dinner is familiar and comforting and almost a necessity in times of stress. A big ol’ bowl of pasta? Oh yes please!

But this pasta isn’t rich with heavy cream, or cream cheese. Instead, it gets its creamy sauce from just a generous tablespoon of plain old yogurt. Plus, there’s some smoky ham, bright green spinach and peas to keep everything friendly. Minced garlic and Parmesan cheese is a requirement, natch.

yogurt sauced pasta with spinach, ham & peas

Don’t stress it. Dinner is ready.

elsewhere:Β Thinking about muffins? Trust me, you’ll be baking up a batch of these delicious marmalade muffins asap over at Poppytalk. They’re lovely.

29 comments to “the dinner solution: noodles with ham, peas, spinach & yogurt”

  1. 1
    Rina   March 6, 2012 at 6:44 pm

    Hahahahaha teux deux. Made me lol a lot.

  2. 2
    Amanda @ Once Upon a Recipe   March 6, 2012 at 7:17 pm

    Delicious is my name, and simple is my game. Or something like that. πŸ˜‰
    Love this easy dinner solution!

  3. 3
    Joanne   March 7, 2012 at 3:40 am

    Ugh…to-do lists. I definitely have one and I’ve definitely been ignoring it! Need to refuel with a quick and easy pasta like this and get to it!

  4. 4
    vanillasugarblog   March 7, 2012 at 9:13 am

    never ever thought to use just a cup of plain yogurt to kick up a pasta dish. excellent idea my dear!

  5. 5
    Meghan   March 7, 2012 at 10:27 am

    I love noodles and I have every one of these ingredients in my fridge. What to make for dinner tonight is now checked off my Teux Deux list! Thanks!

  6. 6
    Dramatic Pancake   March 7, 2012 at 11:04 am

    Ugh, the dreaded Teux Deux list! Haha, I seriously want to rip mine up right now. Love that this is simple enough to pull together quickly but also healthy and GOOD! Can’t wait to try it.

  7. 7
    Joanne (Bijoux)   March 7, 2012 at 11:22 am

    I miss pasta. Ever since I switched to gluten-free foods, I have had a hankering for pasta dishes. Rice noodles just don’t have that same texture. I’ve added yoghurt to pasta in the past and I must say it’s a great thing to get in the habit of doing. It’s both delicious, creamy and healthy.

  8. 8
    Lisa   March 7, 2012 at 10:00 pm

    Ahh, I almost skipped this post because of the ham, but THANK YOU for introducing me to Teux Deux! I’d never heard of it before, and I am in love. Thank you thank you from my list-loving self. πŸ™‚

  9. 9
    kickpleat   March 8, 2012 at 9:58 am

    Rina, it’s an awesome name & I love the list app. The best!

    Thanks Amanda, we can all use a little dinner help now & again.

    Joanne, it must be a crazy busy month all around!

    It works really well, VanillaSugarBlog – though I think a cup would be waaaaay too much.

    Glad I could help out with dinner ideas, Meghan.

    Thanks, DP!

    Joanne, have you tried kamut pasta? I like it and I’ve heard good things about corn pasta. Good luck satisfying those pasta cravings!

    TeuxDeux is awesome, Lisa. No prob!

  10. 10
    Melissa@Julia's Bookbag   March 9, 2012 at 11:16 pm

    YUMMY YUMMY IN MY TUMMY!!!!! I think my kiddo would love this as well πŸ™‚

  11. 11
    Melissa@Julia's Bookbag   March 9, 2012 at 11:16 pm

    YUMMY YUMMY IN MY TUMMY!!!!! I think my kiddo would love this as well πŸ™‚

  12. 12
    Melissa@Julia's Bookbag   March 9, 2012 at 11:16 pm

    YUMMY YUMMY IN MY TUMMY!!!!! I think my kiddo would love this as well πŸ™‚

  13. 13
    Melissa@Julia's Bookbag   March 9, 2012 at 11:16 pm

    YUMMY YUMMY IN MY TUMMY!!!!! I think my kiddo would love this as well πŸ™‚

  14. 14
    Melissa@Julia's Bookbag   March 9, 2012 at 11:16 pm

    YUMMY YUMMY IN MY TUMMY!!!!! I think my kiddo would love this as well πŸ™‚

  15. 15
    Melissa@Julia's Bookbag   March 9, 2012 at 11:16 pm

    YUMMY YUMMY IN MY TUMMY!!!!! I think my kiddo would love this as well πŸ™‚

  16. 16
    Melissa@Julia's Bookbag   March 9, 2012 at 11:16 pm

    YUMMY YUMMY IN MY TUMMY!!!!! I think my kiddo would love this as well πŸ™‚

  17. 17
    Melissa@Julia's Bookbag   March 9, 2012 at 11:16 pm

    YUMMY YUMMY IN MY TUMMY!!!!! I think my kiddo would love this as well πŸ™‚

  18. 18
    Melissa@Julia's Bookbag   March 9, 2012 at 11:16 pm

    YUMMY YUMMY IN MY TUMMY!!!!! I think my kiddo would love this as well πŸ™‚

  19. 19
    Melissa@Julia's Bookbag   March 9, 2012 at 11:16 pm

    YUMMY YUMMY IN MY TUMMY!!!!! I think my kiddo would love this as well πŸ™‚

  20. 20
    Melissa@Julia's Bookbag   March 9, 2012 at 11:16 pm

    YUMMY YUMMY IN MY TUMMY!!!!! I think my kiddo would love this as well πŸ™‚

  21. 21
    Melissa@Julia's Bookbag   March 9, 2012 at 11:16 pm

    YUMMY YUMMY IN MY TUMMY!!!!! I think my kiddo would love this as well πŸ™‚

  22. 22
    Jocelyn   March 10, 2012 at 8:31 am

    Looks yummy πŸ™‚ I usually don’t eat pasta because of how heavy it usually is but this dish looks healthy and full of yummy foods πŸ™‚ I like that the sauce is yogurt based!

  23. 23
    Lucy @ Lucyeats   March 10, 2012 at 5:41 pm

    Haha TeuxDeux list is inspired! I like how you’ve made a yoghurt sauce

  24. 24
    Bunny Eats Design   March 10, 2012 at 8:48 pm

    I love easy recipes like this.

    I make lists all day long. I have to do lists for the day, to do lists for the season and shopping lists for food and other things. I always put a few easy tasks in there because the feeling of achievement is wonderful.

  25. 25
    Kim   March 13, 2012 at 8:01 pm

    This is the first time I have tried a recipe from your site and all I have to say is THANK YOU!!
    We just had this for dinner and it was seriously the best pasta dish I have had in a long time. I used mushrooms instead of ham.
    It came together pleasantly quickly (you know how sometimes people swear it is fast and easy but it ends up being a lot of work.. not this time!)
    I have never heard of using yogurt as a pasta sauce and I love how it kind of just melted in to the background with the butter and created a silky mouth feel without making the dish blatantly milky or creamy.
    Now I’m going to browse your site to find tomorrow’s dinner recipe!

  26. 26
    kickpleat   March 13, 2012 at 11:02 pm

    I think this would be a very kid-friendly dish, Melissa! Let me know if you give it a try.

    Jocelyn, it’s nice and light with the yogurt – not too creamy or heavy at all.

    Thanks Lucy πŸ™‚

    Bunny Eats, I do the same thing!! Lots of lists means getting stuff done πŸ™‚

    Kim, thanks so much for commenting – and for trying one of my recipes. Glad you enjoyed it and I think mushrooms sound like a great substitute. Enjoy browsing around!

  27. 27
    Curly J   April 4, 2012 at 12:30 pm

    Sounds like a great, simple dinner! Bookmarking πŸ™‚

  28. 28
    A L   April 8, 2012 at 7:08 pm

    I just made this. You are the best.

  29. 29
    kickpleat   April 12, 2012 at 12:20 pm

    Thanks Curly J, it does make for a good simple dinner. Enjoy!

    AL, thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed.

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