Hey, hey hey!!!
How are you doing today? I know I have talked about the weather the past few days, but I am sooooooooo loving it! It’s been sunny and warm. I have major Spring Fever! I don’t want to work or do anything except sit outside and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. Oh how I miss it so much! After all when I had my Physical, my results were perfect, except me, the ex-sun goddess, was lacking in Vitamin D. Crazy!!! I thought with all the sun laying I have done in my lifetime, that I would have built up enough Vitamin D to get me through the rest of my life. But I guess not, I guess that means more sun for me!! But just a little!!
So the weather is nice, yet I am sharing with you today the most cheesy, comforting food I have made in a long time. This is my not one, not two, but Three Cheese Chicken Alfredo. This was sure a treat to make. Last week I was on a major pasta kick, and I had in mind that I wanted to make Chicken Parmesan, but the little vision of my Husband was in my head, with him repeating “I don’t like chicken and tomatoes together.” Gosh I still can’t get over that, but anyway I had chicken to use, so I thought why not make my Chicken Alfredo? I haven’t had that in a long time and next to spaghetti and meatballs it’s my Husbands favorite pasta dish!
This is one of those quick weeknight meals, which makes it even nicer. I did what I could to lighten up an Alfredo sauce without sacrificing flavor, thickness or creaminess. It’s made with 1/3 fat cream cheese, lite mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese, mixed in with some butter and non-fat milk and presto you have a nice thick sauce. When the sauce cools a bit it thickens up very nicely. For the chicken, I just cut up some boneless chicken breast and cooked in a skillet, but to save on time, you could also use already cooked chicken like from a rotisserie chicken. The sauce in general takes less time then waiting for the water for the pasta to boil!
This pasta dish was a hit with my Husband and I saved some left overs for Jenny and the next day she sent me a text message telling me she really enjoyed the pasta. I love that!! It’s nice when someone appreciates a meal that you cook! By the way for the pasta, I used Trader Joe’s High Fiber Penne Pasta, which I really like. I like whole wheat pasta, but my Husband wont’ touch it, so I sneak in healthy pasta with the high fiber. lol!! Hope he doesn’t read this! Otherwise he will get all of my secrets on how I sneak healthy food into his meals.
- 16 oz Chicken breast, skinless, boneless, cut into bite size pieces
- 12 oz penne pasta or linguine (I used Trader Joe's High Fiber Penne)
- For sauce:
- ½ tbsp butter (I used Brummel and Brown)
- 8 oz cream cheese ⅓ less fat (I used Trader Joe's Whipped cream cheese, light)
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 cups nonfat milk
- ¾ cup light mozzarella cheese
- 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
- For sauce: Melt butter in sauce pan on medium, add cream cheese and stir till melted and creamy. Add the garlic and pepper. Gradually pour in milk until well blended and creamy. Stir in mozzarella until melted; mix in parmesan cheese.
- Meanwhile: Add chicken to a skillet, and cook until no longer pink, stirring occasionally.
- Cook pasta according to directions the same time you start the sauce and chicken.
- To put together; evenly divide pasta among six plates, evenly divide chicken between plates and top with Alfredo sauce.
Well, that’s it for me, I am on the run again!
Have a super fantastic day!!
Toodles,
Jennifer