I made myself a pledge to focus on being healthier and happier since the New Year has started… getting more sleep, balancing work and life better, focusing on my business and my brand with a revived passion, reaching out to friends and family more often, traveling more, eating healthier and getting more walking around the city in, and just choosing to be happy every day, no matter what. NO EXCUSES.
BUT, see the thing is…I hate diets. They never last (at least not for long), and IÂ slowly grow tired of counting calories and feeling deprived and end up eating like a maniac and ruining all the good i just did by torturing myself on the diet in the first place. So I’ve decided to go in a different direction by simply cutting sugar out of my diet, eating more healthy lean proteins and fresh veggies and cutting DOWN on carbs, not fully out. It seems to lessen the pain of a diet and I truly feel better and am more conscious of what I eat by tracking the amount of carbs I’m taking in. Â So far, so good.Â
So I decided I wouldn’t fully deprive myself of the carb-laden pasta dishes I crave in the Winter and that I’ve been missing out on, and made a Chicken, Spinach, Mushroom & Bacon Fettuccine Alfredo that’s absolutely to die for. I used some lower-carb fettuccine pasta (Carba-Nada, which I got on Amazon for $10 and it only has 17 grams of carbs in 1.5 cups of pasta...LOVE IT). I sautéed some chicken breasts, shallots, garlic, bacon and added some spinach and mushrooms to make the base for the pasta. Then I made a delicious Alfredo sauce with half and half, unsalted butter, whipped cream cheese and shredded Parmesan cheese, thinned down with some water to make a semi-healthier version of this luscious, velvety (and usually super rich and fattening) pasta sauce.
I hope you’re getting through the Winter OK yourselves, and if not, whip up a batch of this deliciousness. Guilt-Free. You’ll be just fine, I promise. 😉
Ingredients
- CHICKEN, SPINACH & MUSHROOM PASTA
- 1 package fresh or dried fettuccine pasta
- 4 slices center cut bacon
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound chicken breasts (3-4 pieces)
- 6 tablespoons butter, divided
- 2 shallots, sliced thin
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 package frozen spinach (or a few handfuls fresh baby spinach)
- 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced (baby bella, porcini, chanterelle)
- Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
- ALFREDO SAUCE
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup heavy cream or half and half
- 3/4 cup whipped cream cheese
- 5 ounces shredded parmesan cheese
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup - 1/2 cup water, as needed for desired sauce consistency
Instructions
- CHICKEN, SPINACH & MUSHROOM PASTA
- Cook pasta in salted boiling water according to package directions, drain and set aside. Reserve some of the pasta water to add back in to the pasta sauce later on, for consistency.
- Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, cook bacon over medium heat until crispy and cooked through. Drain on paper towels, crumble and set aside.
- Rinse and pat dry chicken breasts, brush olive oil on and season with kosher salt and pepper to taste.
- Drain bacon grease from saute pan and raise heat to medium high. Saute chicken breasts, about 6 minutes per side, until a nice browning occurs and chicken is cooked through. Set aside, and keep warm with tented foil. (NOTE: You may also grill the chicken if desired at the same cooking time).
- In the same pan, add 2 tablespoons of butter and saute shallots for a few minutes. Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Add sliced mushrooms and saute for another few minutes until they are soft.
- Defrost frozen spinach in microwave for 5 minutes, drain and then add spinach (you can also add fresh spinach now) to the pan with the shallots, garlic and mushrooms. Cook for a few minutes until all cooked through, add crumbled bacon and season with freshly ground black pepper. Turn heat to low and keep warm while making the Alfredo sauce.
- ALFREDO SAUCE
- In a medium saucepan, melt butter, cream and whipped cream cheese over medium-low heat.
- Add shredded Parmesan cheese and season with freshly ground black pepper. If sauce seems too thick, add some of the reserved pasta water to the sauce to thin it down to desired consistency.
- Pour the Alfredo sauce into the pan with the spinach and mushroom mixture, slice the chicken into slices or chunks and add to the sauce and stir together well.
- Serve hot over the pasta (or you can mix the pasta into the sauce ahead of serving, whatever you prefer).
- Serves 4-6.
