Cajun Chicken Alfredo

Alfredo sauce is another weakness of mine. Absolutely delicious and chock full of calories, it's something in which I rarely allow myself to indulge. Heavy cream is what makes this food so amazing and yet so bad for you, so I set out to find a recipe that still tastes great but doesn't cause me to gain five pounds overnight. This recipe uses 2% milk instead of cream. It's still not quite healthy, but it tastes like the real thing with a little less guilt.


This recipe is very versatile. I had a craving for Cajun tonight, but if you replace the Cajun spices with salt, pepper, and garlic powder you will have a more traditional alfredo sauce. I also love using shrimp instead of chicken, but unfortunately that is a much more expensive recipe.

It's not very pretty, but it tastes incredible!

Makes 3-4 servings.


Ingredients:


8 oz. fettuccine pasta
Cajun spice mix
3 chicken breasts
2 T butter
2 T coconut oil
1 t minced garlic
3 T flour
2 cups 2% milk
1 cup grated Romano cheese


Required equipment:


Wire whisk
Large cast-iron or stainless steel frying pan - do not use a Teflon or other coated pan for this recipe or you may end up with bits of the non-stick coating in your food from the wire whisk scraping the pan.


Cook pasta according to directions, drain, and set aside.


In a shallow bowl, coat chicken breasts with Cajun spice mix until they are completely covered. Yes, I use a mix - it's so easy, and I am new at cooking Cajun food and have no clue what makes it taste so amazing.

This is the spice mix I use, found at my local grocery store.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon coconut oil in frying pan on medium heat. If you don't own coconut oil, just replace it with the same amount of butter. Add minced garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Add meat to pan, turning every few minutes until chicken breasts are cooked all the way through. When you flip the meat, scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula so spices and drippings do not stick and burn.

When chicken is cooked all the way through, remove meat to a clean plate, quickly slice into smaller pieces, and return to pan. Mix these smaller chicken pieces with the juices and spices in the pan until coated and cook for a few more minutes. Remove chicken back to plate and cover to keep warm.

Reduce heat to low-medium. Melt 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon coconut oil in pan, mixing with the spices and juices that are left in the pan after cooking the chicken. Add flour in small amounts, stirring constantly with wire whisk until all flour is mixed in. Add milk slowly, still stirring constantly with wire whisk to prevent lumps. You may have to stir fairly vigorously to get rid of the lumps.


When all lumps are gone, continue to stir frequently until mixture is hot but not boiling (a few minutes). When hot, add grated cheese slowly, stirring with whisk until cheese is melted and mixed in. Once all cheese has been added and melted, add at least another tablespoon of Cajun spice mix and stir. Taste the sauce and add more Cajun spices to your liking.


Remove from heat and mix sauce with pasta and chicken. You may need to do this in another container if your frying pan is not big enough.

Ready to eat!

References:
http://www.food.com/recipe/reduced-fat-alfredo-sauce-12365