Creamy Whole-Wheat Pasta with Asparagus, Mushrooms & Chicken

I saw this creamy pasta on a blog that I frequent and just had to make it right away.  It really is as good as it sounds!

Ingredients:

8 ounces whole-wheat pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound sliced mushrooms
6 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup milk (I used 1%)
8 cups lightly packed spinach
1/2 lb. asparagus, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives (I didn't have any so I left these out)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
Grilled chicken

Directions:
1. Boil 2 qts. water in a large pot and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl.


2. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan, add garlic and mushrooms, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the asparagus and cook for another 2 minutes. Add cream cheese and milk and heat until boiling, stirring often. Add spinach and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and red pepper flakes, then pour over pasta. Sprinkle with chives and serve with parmesan on the side. Top with freshly grilled chicken

Sautee all the veggies....

This is where it starts getting creamy - yummmm