Skinny Fettuccine Alfredo 2

Trying to find healthful dishes that don’t compromise the taste is almost impossible.  It is very hard to convince a teenage boy to eat quinoa because it is healthy.  All they care about is, how does it taste?? And, being a self proclaimed foodie myself it is hard to convince me to substitute spaghetti squash for the real thing.  I like spaghetti squash and I think it is a fine side dish, but you cannot put turkey meatballs and pasta sauce on squash and expect me to think it is real Italian pasta.  It just doesn’t work.  I would rather have a small portion of real pasta than a tub full for “fake” spaghetti.

BUT, with that being said, if I can find a substitution for an ingredient and it does not change the integrity of the dish I am sold!  Well, I found one! I found this on The Food Network (Katie Lee) so I cannot take credit for this amazing recipe, but I had to pass it on to you, my readers.  I swear if you serve this to your family they will think it is the real thing.  My 11 year old even loved it!
You can add broccoli, squash, bell peppers to make this a primavera or add chicken, salmon, shrimp to give it a protein punch.

 

Skinny Fettuccine Alfredo

A lightened up version of the classic Alfredo 
Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cauliflower florets
  • 1 cup milk (2% or whole)
  • 3 Tablespoons butter
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 lb fettuccine pasta
  • 2 Tablespoons parsley, minced

Instructions

  1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, add the cauliflower. Boil for about 15 minutes or until it is very tender.

  2. When the cauliflower is cooked, remove from the water with a slotted spoon and place in a blender (reserve water for the pasta).

  3. Add 1 cup milk to the blender. Blend on high until the cauliflower and milk forms a silky sauce.

  4. Add the pasta to the water that you boiled the cauliflower in and cook according to package directions (normally about 12 minutes).

  5. In a large saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter along with the WHOLE garlic clove. Allow the garlic to infuse into the butter. Do not allow the butter to burn. After a 3-4 minutes remove the garlic and pour in the cauliflower/milk mixture. Stir and taste for salt and pepper.

  6. Once the pasta is cooked and drained add it to the sauce. Add Parmesan cheese and mix well. Garnish with parsley and serve warm.

Recipe Notes

 
*If you want to add whole vegetables to this dish such as broccoli or squash or peppers be sure and steam or sauce them before adding to the pasta and sauce.