Receta Creamy Goodness: Chicken Dish #2
Almost any pasta qualifies as comfort food in my book. Give it a rich creamy sauce and plenty of cheese and we’re talking absolute heaven. The problem is the white creamy sauce and the extra cheesy mixture (all the things (fat!) that makes it soooo good.) These dishes, in general, are tough on the waistline. Pasta on its own has a hefty amount of calories—about 180 calories in a 2-ounce serving. Add that creamy sauce and you’ve just created a calorie bomb- just waiting to plan a sneak attack your healthy lifestyle. Not to mention that those creamy sauces are normally full of saturated fat. (The LDL–Lousy fat..aka–the BAD fat. The kind that cloggs your precious arteries! It’s best to keep saturated fat to a minimum for a healthy heart.)
The good news is that there are ways to “fix” creamy pasta dishes. And that’s just what I did with this fettuccine Alfredo. For my second recipe using a rotisserie chicken I made a RICH, CREAMY, DELICIOUS Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo. I used about 1.5 cups of my shredded chicken. Which means I have a cup left… Hmmmm..what to make, what to make?!
Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
Sorry the picture isn’t that preeeetty. I took, like, 6-7 pictures and all I saw was WHITE (creamy goodness) on a green plate. So, this is what you get promise- it is delicious!
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 lb uncooked whole wheat fettuccine
- 2 cups fat-free half and half
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Dash freshly ground black pepper
- Dash ground red pepper (cayenne)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
- 1 medium white onion, chopped
- 8 ounces white button mushrooms, sliced
- 2 oz (1/3-less-fat) cream cheese (Neufchâtel)
- 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese blend
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
DIRECTIONS:
Cook fettuccine as directed on package, omitting salt. Drain; return to saucepan. Cover to keep warm; set aside. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, stir milk, flour, salt, black pepper and red pepper with wire whisk until smooth. In 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add onion, cook 6 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic and mushrooms, and saute until mushrooms and onions are soft. With wire whisk, stir milk mixture into butter mixture in saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat 6 to 8 minutes or until mixture thickens and boils. Stir in cream cheese until melted. Stir in Parmesan cheese until melted. Add chicken and heat through. Pour over fettuccine; toss to coat. Sprinkle with parsley.
Nutritional Information
8 Servings (2oz pasta; 4 oz sauce w/ chicken)
Calories: 341
Total Fat: 8g
Total Carbohydrate: 49g
Fiber: 6g
Protein: 20.9g