Chicken Alfredo

My husband is the big Alfredo sauce fan around here.  Every time we go to an Italian restaurant he opts for Pasta with Alfredo sauce, while I'm typically a fan of the marinara variety (at least partially for calorie reasons!).  So when I got me a can of Progresso Recipe Starters Creamy Parmesan Basil sauce that can be used to make Alfredo sauce, I figured I'd jump on the chance to make my husband an awesome dinner.


A while back I made Chicken Stroganoff after using another Recipe Starters variety to get the process started.   There's quite a few things you can make with the sauces, but since I hadn't tried Alfredo sauce at home just yet I decided to give it a shot with this one, tossing in some fresh herbs to season things up.

I started out by cubing some chicken into pieces about 1 inch in size, then seasoning them with a bit of salt and pepper.  I cooked them in a nonstick skillet with some olive oil until they were cooked throughout.

Next I added in the butter and the minced garlic and let it cook for 1-2 minutes.

Next I added the can of Parmesan sauce, the grated Parmesan cheese, half-and-half, and some chopped fresh oregano from my oregano plant and stirred.  I heated it until it was simmering, then let the sauce cook for about 8 minutes.

The sauce thickened significantly as the cheese melted, and it was smelling fantastic when it was time to eat.

I served it over some fresh pasta and had some peas on the side.  Yum!

Now that is some good Alfredo sauce!  It was thick and creamy and perfect with the chicken and pasta.   Next time I plan on trying a fully homemade version, but was glad to try this on my first attempt.  From the Alfredo sauce recipes I've seen it looks like the Parmesan sauce just makes it extra cheesy and thick, and with some heavy cream and fresh Parmesan I can come up with a completely from scratch version. I think mushrooms would be an excellent addition and maybe some crushed red pepper!

Chicken Alfredo Recipe

Ingredients:

8 ounces fettucine (1/2 box)
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 chicken breasts
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 can Progresso Recipe Starters in Creamy Parmesan Basil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan with Italian Seasoning
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano

Instructions:

Start boiling pasta in a medium saucepan.  Cut chicken into cubes about 1 inch in size, then add to a large heated nonstick skillet with olive oil and cook over medium heat until cooked throughout.  Add butter and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes, until garlic is softened.  Stir in Parmesan sauce, Parmesan cheese, and half-and-half and continue cooking about 8 minutes , stirring occasionally to prevent any from burning to the pan.  Serve over cooked pasta.