Chicken Fettuccine with Broccoli

The theme for this recipe swap was Healthy Recipes.  This was the perfect swap to ring in the New Year since we're all looking to fulfil New Years Resolutions, well at least my husband and I are.  I received Hezzi D's Books and Cooks version of Fettuccine Alfredo with Bacon.  I have to admit that we're not really big fans of bacon, so I rarely keep it in the house.  I decided that I was going to try to make a healthy version of fettuccine with a different meat.

When going through my cabinets, I had a defrosted chicken breast from another meal and a bunch of broccoli leftover from snacks, so I thought I'd try to make it with the ingredients that I had on hand.

Grilled Chicken Fettuccine with Broccoli

adapted from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks

Ingredients

1 pound fettuccine

1 chicken breast, grilled and chopped
1 bunch of broccoli, chopped into florets
2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tablespoon flour

1 ¼ cup 2% milk

¾ cup Parmesan cheese

2 ounces gruyere

1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon nutmeg

Directions
1) Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain, and set aside.
2) Start the grill.  Season chicken with salt and pepper and grill until done.
3)  Steam broccoli florets until tender.

4)  Heat a skillet with a little bit of oil and add garlic, cook for 1 minute, stirring. Add in the flour and stir constantly for 1 minute. Slowly stir in the milk. Cook until it starts to thicken and bubble.

5) Reduce heat to low. Add in half the Parmesan cheese and half the gruyere. Stir until cheese is melted. Add in the remaining cheese and stir until it is all incorporated into the sauce.

6) Stir in salt, pepper. Cook 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in chicken, broccoli, and nutmeg. Serve over top of cooked fettuccine.

Note: The original recipe calls for reserving the some of the liquid from the pasta and adding that to the sauce.  My sauce was the right consistancy, and tasted good, so I didn't add the water to the sauce.

I liked this meal.  It was a pretty classic combination, but with a much lighter taste.  It was a lot of the same textures, so I'd definitely serve it with a salad or crunchy garlic bread.  The chicken came off the grill super moist and flavorful, and the grill flavor worked great with the sauce and the broccoli.  Good meal, and easy on the hips, can't beat that.