recipe: Skinny Alfredo with Chicken and Broccoli

Another recipe!  I was a cooking and baking machine last night...  just call me "Chef", I won't mind.

This is a super-easy, fast, budget-friendly, waistline-friendly recipe.

Skinny Alfredo with Chicken and Broccoli: adapted from Courtney Horan's Skinny Chicken Alfredo
Stats: ~295 - 340 , depending on how much chicken, broccoli, and/or cheese you use (mine was 340)
Serves: 6-8

~3.5 cups shredded chicken
5 cups roasted broccoli florets
8 ounces pasta (any kind!)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1 cup fat-free, low sodium chicken broth (or 1 cup water and 1 TBSP/cube bouillon)
1/4 cup plain lowfat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup 2% milk
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 pinch ground nutmeg
3/4 cup Italian cheese (parmesan, mozzarella, asiago, or a mix)

not pictured: garlic

In a pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta for approx. 8 minutes.

Add the broccoli florets for the last 4 minutes of cooking.

 

Drain and set aside.
 
In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is golden, 1 to 2 minutes.

mmm...  breathe it in!

Whisk in the flour until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Gradually whisk in the chicken broth, Greek yogurt, milk, pepper and nutmeg. Bring to a low boil, stirring constantly.

Lower the heat and simmer, stirring gently, until the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Stir in cheese.

Add cooked chicken and broccoli to sauce mixture, followed by the cooked pasta. Toss to combine and serve with more Parmesan, if desired.

we like to add crushed red peppers to ours for a little heat; normally, I would add these right after the garlic, but I forgot so I had to add it in at the end.

Note:  This is not an extremely saucy dish...  I would double the sauce if you want it really drippy and yummy.  It is perfectly fine this way, but I know a lot of people really love their alfredo sauce, so I wanted to warn you all!

Dinner is served, baby!

a small plate of alfredo with a spinach/arugula, white bean, sundried tomato salad drizzled with strawberry balsamic dressing.

simple summer salad:  1 cup white beans (drained and rinsed if from a can), 1 TBS sun-dried tomatoes, lettuce mix