Broccoli Garlic Alfredo

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo is one of those dishes that goes down in the books as one of the best pasta dishes. Granted, the best doesn’t always mean it’s the healthiest for you … unless you decide to make it at home in a lighter fashion. I sometimes keep Ragu’s Light Alfredo sauce in the cabinet for days when I want to throw something together quick without any further thought.  Although for this dish I decided to try out an Alfredo recipe which was available on the Laughing Cow website (see here).

As with most recipes, I did change up the Alfredo recipe just a tad, opting to increase the milk just a bit, skipped on the butter, used their garlic & herb Laughing Cow Cheese and seasoned the sauce up a little differently.  The end result was completely delicious – filling and low in points.

I didn’t have any grilled chicken on hand, so I put some frozen chicken straws in the oven to toast up and topped my pasta with 2 of those, sliced up. The added chicken will increase the points plus of the recipe – in my case the 2 chicken straws were 2 points plus values.

Serves 2. 6 Points Plus/serving.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups Al Dente Carba-Nada Egg Fettuccine Noodles
• 3 Light Laughing Cow Cheese Wedges, Garlic & Herb Flavor
• 1 tbsp reduced fat parmesan cheese
• 2/3 cup skim milk
• 2 cups cooked broccoli
• 1 tsp black pepper, (adjust to taste)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Salt, to taste

In a medium pan bring a pot of salted water to boil. Once boiling add in the Carba-Nada pasta and cook until done.

Steam broccoli in the microwave with 2 tbsp of water or use microwavable frozen broccoli.

In a sauce pan, place cheese wedges, milk, parmesan cheese, pepper, salt and garlic powder. Over medium heat gently cook together the sauce until the cheese wedges melt and the sauce thickens. Make sure to stir constantly to avoid burning.

Drain pasta and return back to the pan, toss with cooked broccoli and gently fold in the Alfredo sauce.

Equally divide the pasta into two dishes.

If wanted, top with your choice of chicken.

Carba-Nada Broccoli Alfredo with Breaded Chicken Tenders

I found out about the Al Dente brand Carba-Nada noodles thanks to a fellow Weight Watchers member whom I follow on Instagram.  After seeing a few dishes she made with the noodles, I decided to go on the hunt.  And by hunt, I meant stalk.  I checked a few of my local stores pasta sections but continued to come up empty handed – so I went to the Al Dente website and did a search for my local area to see what stores sold the brand.  The only downfall is the search gives you stores that sell the brand not the particular type of pasta you are looking for.  There were only 2 local stores (one that I knew and the other I didn’t) that sold the brand – so I called the store closest to me, that I was familiar with and had a customer service rep take a peak in the pasta aisle to see if they sold Carba-Nada.  To my surprise she said they did in the original flavor and the roasted garlic flavor.  So I ran to the store and picked up a bag of each (they were around $5 a bag) but I do know if you cannot find it in your area you can purchase on Amazon – granted it’s a little more expensive, but they are available.

So what is so great about this pasta?  1 ½ cups (dry) is ONLY 3 points plus values!  That is AMAZING!

Enough of my bragging aside – onto the meal I created.  I went ahead and boiled myself off 1 ½ cups of roasted garlic Carba-nada pasta.  When done, I mixed in some steamed broccoli I had cooked (about 1 cup), a little salt, black pepper and ½ cup Ragu Light Parmesan Alfredo (3 points plus – 2 servings).  I mixed together so all ingredients were combined and plated it up.  I have to say I was pleasantly surprised to see how MUCH was on my plate for only 6 points! Usually with regular pasta, I get 1 cup and the sauce of my choice depends (whether homemade or bottled).  Carba-nada noodles definitely help me get my “moneys worth” on my plate!

For a protein I baked off some Purdue Simply Smart Lightly Breaded Chicken Tenders in the oven.  Since I stumbled upon these frozen chicken tenders (as well as the little nuggets) I have been obsessed.  They’re white meat chicken, delicious and very low in points.  My boyfriend really enjoys them, which is a double positive.  What’s plated is 3 ounces (a serving) is only 3 points plus.  Delicious.

9 points plus for all on my dinner plate and it was fabulous.  There was so much I ended up eating half, and finishing the rest of it later on that night.

QUESTION:

Is there any dish you’ve wanted to lighten up lately?