Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

This is me sans noodles. I'm pretty damn tasty and don't you want to make me?

I got this recipe out of the October & November 2008 issue of Taste of Home. Ryan told me the other day that he was digging pasta with white sauce, so I earmarked this recipe to try on a night when I was relatively short on time, wanted something relatively decadent, yet wouldn't make me want to cry mercy when I was on the treadmill. So why did I choose an Alfredo sauce? Well ... this one isn't too bad ...


Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
from Taste of Home October/November 2008

6 oz. uncooked fettuccine (that's half of a small box, yo)
1 lb. boneless, skinless chiken breasts, cubed (I used 2 frozen ones)
1 small onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. salt (eyeball it)
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (again - use judgement - you don't need no measuring spoons!)
1 T. butter
1 T. (heaping) flour
1 1/2 c. fat-free half and half**
1 c. frozen peas, thawed (don't worry if they aren't totally thawed)
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
**I didn't have this, so I basically used a 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream and what I had for milk in the fridge, which ended up being the rest of my skim milk and some 2% from my honey's stash.

Cook fettuccine according to the directions on the package. While this is cooking, saute chicken, onion, garlic, salt and cayenne in butter until the chicken is fully cooked. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually (who am I kidding? I dumped it in) add the half-and-half, peas and cheese. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Drain fettuccine; toss with chicken mixture.

Drumroll ... here are the nutrition facts: 1 c. equals 425 calories, 8 grams of fat ... 49 grams of carbs. Let's focus on the calories and fat. Those are good numbers.