Garlicky Chicken Alfredo with Broccoli

When you are having one of those days and want something super-indulgent and bad for you, chances are it is filled with high fat dairy. Okay, so maybe that is just me.

I love Alfredo Sauce. This isn’t a secret or some crazy fetish, I just really like the combination of butter, cream and cheese poured over pasta. Something about dairy overload sets me off and I go crazy, devouring every last morsel of it. However, there are sometimes limits to the amount of cream and butter I can take in during one sitting, which I’m sure you all can agree with.

Years ago I decided to try something a little different to get a full flavored Alfredo Sauce, without the full fat content mind you, and found that by sautéing garlic for a minute before adding the rest of the ingredients helped tremendously. After all, Alfredo really is nothing more than butter, cream and Parmigiano Reggiano or parmesan cheese and quite delightful without any emphasis on the light as it is also quite heavy. Starting with a white sauce instead of making a heavy cream reduction reduces the caloric and fat content a surprising amount, without sacrificing flavor.

Garlicky Chicken Alfredo with Broccoli

Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons flour
1½ cups fat-free or low fat milk
½ cup parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon parsley, minced or 1 teaspoon dried

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt butter and add minced garlic, cooking until the garlic sizzles and becomes fragrant, stirring often. Whisk in flour and cook for a minute or two to make sure the flour is completely combined with the butter and garlic and being careful not to burn it. If it does burn, do us both a favor and dump it and start over because burnt garlic is just plain NASTY! Whisk in the milk, turning the temperature up to medium-high until it reaches a boil then drop it down to low and stir in the cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Continue cooking until it thickens to the consistency you want (some like it thin, some like it thick so they can dip breadsticks in it.) Stir in the parsley at the last minute and add more salt and pepper if needed.

Chicken
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 chicken breasts
½ teaspoon rubbed sage
½ teaspoon dried thyme
salt and pepper

In a sauté or fry pan, preferably nonstick, heat olive oil over medium heat and add the chicken breasts covered in seasonings to the pan, cooking until clear juices run when pierced in the thickest part, about 5 minutes per side. Remove from pan and set aside.

Boil 1 pound fettuccini noodles to package directions and during last 5 minutes of cooking time add a half a pound of broccoli florets.

Putting it all together
Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and add to the Alfredo sauce along with the drain fettuccini and broccoli, stirring to combine. Serve immediately.

This white sauce is easy to play around with, and if you prefer to use cream or half and half for the milk, go for it. It also works well for a Cajun flair by using cayenne pepper instead of black pepper in the sauce and combining it with blackened chicken, salmon or catfish or Cajun shrimp, but I’d switch out the broccoli for a summer squash or have the veggies as a side dish if going this route.