Creamy Fettucini

I’ve been trying to cook as much as possible lately instead of just heating something up or making some boxed mac n’ cheese. Tonight I felt lazy, but wanted pasta. When reaching for a box of my trusty standby, mac n’ cheese, I saw a recipe for “Creamy Chicken Fettuccini Toss” on the side of my Kroger brand pasta. I noticed that I had almost all the ingredients and it seemed simple enough, so I decided to go for it. Taking inspiration from the Kroger recipe and modifying it quite a bit, I set to work. The result was delicious, and it was pretty darn easy too.

Creamy Fettucini
Prep Time: Approx. 30 minutes (including time to boil water, grill chicken, and steam broccoli)
Yield: About six servings, again depending on portion size

1 12 oz. package fettucini
3 tablespoons margarine
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon instant boullion (chicken flavor)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 clove garlic, minced (optional, add it if you like garlic)
Pinch of black pepper
2 cups 2% milk (or milk of your choice—just try not to use skim, it will make a very watery sauce)
Approx. 3 tablespoons of heavy cream (optional—it helps thicken your sauce)
Approx. 2 cups of chicken, grilled and cubed (I used two cubed tenderloins)
Approx. 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Approx. 3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese (just adjust the amount to your tastes)
Approx. 1 cup fresh broccoli, steamed (optional—only if you like it!)

Cook up your pasta and drain it. Put it back in the pot (I used a stock pot so I’d have plenty of room). While the pasta is cooking, you can make your sauce. In a separate saucepan, melt your margarine over medium heat. With the heat still on medium-low, stir in your flour, bouillon, garlic powder, minced garlic, and pepper. Stir in the milk about a 1/4 cup at a time, slowly, stirring all the while. Let it simmer for a few moments, then splash in some heavy cream. It doesn’t have to be exact, just eyeball it.

Now let it thicken up a bit…it won’t be completely thickened until it’s on the pasta, so don’t worry if it doesn’t get super thick while in the saucepan. Throw in the grated parmesan, however much you like. Stir it around so it melts, then toss in your grilled chicken pieces. Pour the sauce and chicken over your drained pasta. It’ll look like this when you pour it in—not very thick yet, but don’t worry about that.

At this point, you can throw in your steamed broccoli (or whatever else you want to throw in—mushrooms, peppers, other toppings of your choice). Then pour in your grated parmesan and stir it up thoroughly. At this point, the sauce will start to get thick. Let it sit for a few minutes while you set the table, start to clean up, etc. When you come back, stir it up well and it should be pretty well thickened. Garnish with extra shredded and grated parmesan and serve!

So good! I will definitely be making this again. I still have leftovers though, so I have to finish those first! This also made me realize that even if I’m not in the mood to cook, it’s almost always worth it to make the extra effort.