Breezy Bakes: Healthified Chicken Alfredo

I love Alfredo, but I hardly ever get to eat it. Every time we go to an Italian restaurant and I skim the menu, the Alfredo is so tempting. I can just never bring myself to order it because Alfredo in and of itself is so fattening, and then you add the factor that a restaurant is making it?! That totally drives up the "not so healthy for you" status. Restaurants are known for adding more sodium and fat to their food because heck, it just makes it taste better.

But here's the good news; if you make your own Alfredo sauce you can cater it to your own preferences. My personal preference for Alfredo: light yet creamy with a garlicky undertone. Perfect!

This Healthified Chicken Alfredo was so easy to put together and the flavors were delicious. I was able to make this smooth and creamy sauce using about half the butter traditional recipes call for, as well as 2% milk instead of heavy cream or half and half. The result was quite comparable to mainstream Alfredo sauces. A success indeed!

Healthified Chicken Alfredo*

Ingredients:

2 uncooked chicken breasts

1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary or dried

4 cloves garlic, minced

*10 oz. your choice of whole grain pasta (I used gluten free spaghetti, yay!)

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

3 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup chicken broth

2 cups milk (I used 2%), divided

3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning

1/4 teaspoon pepper, plus more for seasoning

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

Directions:

1. Trim fat off chicken. Pierce each side of chicken with a sharp knife 8-10 times. Generously salt and pepper each side. Rub rosemary and 1 clove of the minced garlic into both sides of the chicken. Cook chicken in large saucepan or grill. (I have to admit, I still use my George Foreman from when we first got married 10 years ago! Love it though! If using a saucepan, melt 1 additional tablespoon of butter and cook chicken over medium heat for 5-6 minutes on each side until cooked through and no longer pink. George Foreman takes 10 minutes.)

2. Set chicken aside (if you cooked in a saucepan, do not clean. It will give additional flavor when you cook your Alfredo in the same saucepan). Prepare salted boiling water for pasta. As you're waiting for the water to boil, melt 4 tablespoons of butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the remaining 3 minced garlic cloves and continue stirring for 1 more minute. Add 3 tablespoons chicken broth and stir until liquid has almost completely evaporated scraping bottom of the pan to deglaze (about 3-4 more minutes).

3. At this point you should begin cooking your pasta according to package directions. Very important: you want your pasta and sauce to finish at almost the exact same time. You won't want either to sit waiting for the other to be done.

4. To the saucepan add 1 3/4 cup of the milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg and remaining 1/4 cup chicken broth. Bring to a light boil. Stir constantly for five minutes.

5. Mix the cornstarch with the remaining 1/4 cup of cold milk. Stir until dissolved. Add to saucepan and stir for one minute until slightly thickened. Reduce heat to low and immediately add grated parmesan. Stir until cheese is melted into the sauce. If sauce is too thick, add more chicken broth. Salt and pepper to taste.