Monday's Meal

I've been dying to try a few of the recipes over at Kevin & Amanda's Recipes. I had chicken in the fridge, so I took a look at their chicken recipes. They all looked pretty yummy, but I decided on the Chicken Alfredo since Gus really likes alfredo sauce. He loves farfalle, too, and I just happened to have some in the pantry.

I did make some alterations to the recipe - I left out the peppers because my family doesn't like them; I added a bit more cheese and some cornstarch to thicken the sauce. I doubled the amount of sauce - and also added an extra cup of pasta. We don't like boiled chicken, so I used boneless/skinless chicken breasts & fried them in a bit of canola oil and sprinkled them with garlic powder, salt, & pepper. I wanted to add carrots, zucchini, & summer squash, but Gus wasn't thrilled with that idea. Next time, I'll add that to mine - along with some sun-dried tomatoes.

It was pretty tasty - and very easy to make. Here's what it looked like when I was finished:

My version of the recipe:

Chicken Alfredo
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
garlic powder
salt
pepper

water
3 cups farfalle pasta

1 c. chicken broth (I used Orrington Farms chicken-flavored soup base & water)
6 Tbsp. butter (I think this could easily be cut in half)
2 c. half and half (or heavy whipping cream if you're not concerned about fat/calories)
2 cloves garlic, minced (I used 2 tsp. of minced garlic in a jar)
1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. pepper
1 TBSP. cornstarch (optional)

Directions:
Cook chicken w/ a little oil in frying pan; add garlic powder, salt, & pepper to taste. Remove from pan when done; allow to cool a bit, then cut into bite-size cubes.

Boil farfalle in large pot according to package directions.

In saucepan, heat chicken broth and butter over medium heat until butter is melted. Add half and half, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine, then slowly whisk in the Parmesan cheese. Let simmer, whisking occasionally. Sauce will thicken a bit as it cooks - but most of the thickening will occur as it cools. We like our sauce thicker, so after the mixture was warm, I scooped out 1/2 c., whisked it with 1 TBSP. cornstarch (until smooth), then added it back into the mixture, stirring it well.

Add the chicken to the alfredo sauce and stir well. Drain farfalle, return to pan, then add the alfredo & chicken mixture, stirring to coat the pasta.

You can find Kevin & Amanda's original recipe here.