Chicken & Broccoli "Fettucine" Alfredo

Today was a drastic change in weather for us here in the Atlanta area.  Our high was in the upper 50s today with blustery bone chilling wind.  We are supposed to go down to 37 tonight -- so I guess it is "bye bye basil" tonight.  I don't think the basil can survive those kinds of temps.  They are predicting lows of 34 degrees mid-week.  Guess its time to pull out the turtleneck sweaters!

This evening I made Chicken & Broccoli "Fettucine" Alfredo for dinner.  It was absolutely delicious.  Youngest son also came over and joined us for dinner tonight.  Since the small scale Fettucini Alfredo test run I made earlier in the week as a side dish was successful (made with julienned yellow summer squash), I decided to make a main dish out of it tonight by adding chicken and steamed broccoli florets to make it a complete meal.  It was so simple to make.  I lightly sprayed thin chicken cutlets with olive oil, seasoned them with salt and pepper and briefly grilled them.  Since they are so thin, they only take about 5 minutes to grill.  I julienned 6 or 7 medium sized yellow squash into little matchstick size pieces and set it aside.   I steamed small fresh broccoli florets and sliced the chicken cutlets into strips.  Since we were eating this as a main dish and adding a little bit more sauce, I tried to keep the carbs down somewhat so I made the sauce using half unsweetened almond milk and half light cream (or half-n-half) and I could not taste or tell the difference.  I added the Parmigiano Reggiano, cream cheese and butter as I did earlier in the week and it turned out fantastic.  You can easily add more cream cheese if you want thicker sauce or more Parmigiano Reggiano or Parmesan if you want it to have a stronger cheese taste.  I snapped a couple photos for you to see below as well as the easy peasy recipe.  Enjoy!

P.S. -- Please note:  In order to make it easier to find only the "Wheat/Grain/Gluten Free" recipes, I've added both a link on the right side of my blog (just above the list of alphabetized recipes) as well as a link in the regular recipe section, and listed it alphabetically under "Wheat/Grain/Gluten Free".  Clicking on either of these links will take you directly to the 108+ recipes and meals (and growing every day) that are completely grain free with no added sugar.  I hope this makes searching for them easier!

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This is the julienned yellow squash fettucine before cooking it

Chicken and Broccoli "Fettucine" Alfredo

INGREDIENTS:

6 - 8 boneless chicken breast cutlets, grilled or sauteed and cut into strips
2 cups small broccoli florets, steamed
6 or 8 medium-large yellow summer squash (julienned into little matchsticks)
2 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
3/4 cup half-n-half or light cream
4 tablespoon cream cheese (brick style)
1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, shredded (or Parmesan), additional to sprinkle on top
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
Few good grinds of black pepper, or to taste

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium non-stick skillet, melt butter on low-medium heat; add almond milk, half-n-half or cream and simmer until it just begins to bubble very gently (do not boil).  Add shredded Parmigiano Reggiano (or Parmesan) stirring gently until it begins to melt; add cream cheese and continue stirring until melted and thickened (the sauce should thickly coat the back of a spoon).  Add dash of sea salt and black pepper, to taste.  If desired, add additional Parmigiano (or Parmesan). 

In another non-stick skillet, heat pan on medium-high heat; add olive oil and julienned squash; tossing and lightly sauteing for about 3 to 5 minutes until squash just begins to wilt/soften a bit.  Do not over cook the squash or make it mushy at all -- it should have texture.  Mix lightly cooked squash with some of the Alfredo sauce and place on plates or in bowls; top with chicken strips and broccoli florets; top with additional sauce and sprinkle with additional shredded cheese, if desired.  Makes approximately 3 to 4 servings.