Thursday, March 25, 2010

Chicken-Zucchini Alfredo


With the weather heating up and pool season approaching you will start to find some lighter recipes on this blog along with all the other decadent dishes. Cooking light can be quite a challenge for a lot of people. One of the biggest complaints of "cooking light" are the pre-conceived misconceptions that meals will taste boring and bland. If that was the case, my family wouldn't eat any of it but since no meal in our house has ever gone uneaten, I can assure you cooking light, done the right way, is anything but boring and bland.

A lot of times eating light in the summer time is quite easy for us. My husband is amazing on his grills (yes grills, he has several). So many times it is a simple side salad and a grilled "white" meat like chicken, pork, or seafood. But sometimes despite the heat of the southwest I crave comfort food that is rich and creamy tasting. When I found Ellie Krieger's recipe I knew I had to make it. With a few substitutions I had cooked a fantastic meal that was very well received all the way around.

The recipe is pretty straight forward and comes together in about 30 minutes which is always great, since I don't like spending as much time in the kitchen when the weather is so nice. This dish has all the flavor and taste that a "normal" Alfredo recipe would have but with a lot less fat. If you are trying to eat healthier and don't want to give up comfort then give this recipe a try. You can find Ellie's original recipe on Food Network or if you like my substitutions you can try my version.


Chicken-Zucchini Alfredo
~serves 6-8~
Ingredients:
Kosher Salt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 (about 1 pound) zucchini, thinly sliced into half-moons
5 (4 ounce) thin skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Kosher Salt and Pepper
16 ounces fettuccine
2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cold low-fat (1%) milk
1 1/2 cups (12 ounce can) low-fat evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, cook until translucent, then add 1 clove garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Add the zucchini, cover and cook until tender, stirring, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

Heat another tablespoon oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with kosher salt and pepper and cook through, 4 to 7 minutes per side depending on thickness of meat. Transfer to a plate.

Cook the pasta in the boiling water as the label directs. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking water; return pasta to the pot to keep warm.

Meanwhile, whisk the flour and low-fat milk in a bowl. Place the remaining 1 clove garlic and 1 tablespoon olive oil in the skillet and cook over medium-high heat, 30 second. Add the flour-milk mixture and bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add the evaporated milk, salt to taste and the cheese; stir to melt, about 1 minute.

Cut the chicken into strips. Toss with the pasta, sauce, zucchini-onion mixture and parsley, adding the reserved pasta water as needed to loosen (you might only need 1/2 to 3/4 cup). Serve immediately.

Adapted from: Ellie Krieger for Food Network Magazine


3 comments:

  1. mmm this looks delicious! i like the addition of adding zucchini, too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. oh wow. this looks awesome! i'm always looking for new ways to use zucchini, since i can't find many that my whole family enjoys.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great Share!

    First off, congratulations on this post. If You are searching for latest government jobs in India. Vacancysquare provides you upcoming government jobs information like - Railway, Police, Banking Job, Defense, SSC, UPSC, UPSSSC, teacher jobs and other department for state and central government job. This bucket list for you to know the right jobs detail.

    This is really awesome but that's what you always crank out my friend. Reading your story got my face leaking and my heart singing. Find qualification based government job and vacancies with employment news at: "www.vacancysquare.com". Also check govt jobs, private jobs, latest jobs, teacher jobs, bank jobs, railway jobs, police jobs, UPSC jobs, SSC jobs, UPSSSC jobs, sarkari result with employment news.

    Great posts we can share to our users. Check the latest government job vacancies, upcoming government Indian jobs, latest notifications for government jobs, today government jobs notifications or sarkari naukri now. Just visit our website www.vacancysquare.com to get your dream job notification today.

    Get a complete information about Government jobs in India, Latest jobs in India, admit card, exams, results, answer key, admission and syllabus of Govt Indian jobs.

    If you are interested in free guest post, advertising with us, writing for us and paid guest post service to contact us & about OR visit on our job notification portal www.vacancysquare.com.

    All the best, I’m excited to watch your journey! Keep it works and share your amazing thoughts.

    Great share and thanks again for the mention here,

    Thanks and Regards!
    Priya Singh.

    ReplyDelete

Leave a comment and make my day

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails