Healthy Fettucini Alfredo for Kindel!

So, I got an email from my darling little sister Kindel last night. I consider Kindel to be a fledgling chef. When I was in Texas for my whirlwind trip last month, I taught her how to make Shrimp Diablo. A super easy, super tasty marinara based dish.

Well, Kindel took off like a FLASH and has made it ALOT over the last few weeks and in her email last night, she wanted, and I quote:

"what’s another good sauce that I can make? Something with shrimp because I have a lot of shrimp. And one that tastes creamy and fattening but isn’t. LOL!"

Now, one thing that absolutely SUCKS about living in Norway is that I can't just go buy ingredients and spend the evening with my little sister teaching her how to make a fabulous, low fat pasta sauce. That makes me sad! Can you tell I really miss Kindel??

But, what I CAN do, is make the dish here in Oslo and then blog about it and send the link to Kindel, so that she has a step by step recipe to follow with the bonus of pictures!!


So, let's just call this the first in the Kindel cooking series, shall we?

Ok. Yes. Low Fat, but DELICIOUS, totally CREAMY fettucini alfredo! I know! It sounds crazy! But it is absolutely possible to make a really creamy, rich sauce that is low in both fat and calories!

I know a lot of people are scared of FAT! But you NEED some fat and I really try to avoid a lot of fat free stuff, plus it isn't available in Norway! If you use LOW fat ingredients, you reduce the caloric and fat content by over HALF! That is alot! So don't go fat free, go low fat!

Here are the ingredients for the alfredo sauce:



So, 1 percent milk, reduced fat margarine, a clove of garlic, a tablespoon of flour, parmesean cheese and low fat cream cheese! That's it!

Start by melting 1 Tablespoon of low fat margarine in a pot:



Chop up your garlic and add it too the butter when it's melted and saute it for about 30 seconds:



Next, you're going to add the flour:



When the flour, butter and garlic mix together it is going to form a crumbly, pasty mixture called a roux:



Now, you are going to add the milk. You will probably need about 2 cups. So, start by adding about half of your milk:



Take a whisk and just start stirring until you get the lumps out. The flour will make it thicken, so when it starts to get thick, just add more milk. You are going to have it on Medium High heat here. So, just stir, stir, stir, stir until you have a good creamy consistency:



Time to add the cream cheese. You want 2 to 3 tablespoons, or about half the container. Slap it into the pot:



And stir until it is melted in. It should be really creamy now:



Time to add the parmesean cheese. And NO, you CANNOT use the stuff in a can!!! Use FRESH! Here in Norway, we can't buy it already grated, so I grate my own:



The good thing about parmesean is that it is a very FULL flavored cheese and you don't need ALOT to taste it! But parmesean is also one of those cheeses that is not as high in fat as others! Just buy a bag of parmesean, regular or low fat and throw in about 2 or three tablespoons:



Again, stir it in and just taste it. If you want to add more cheese, add it. Now add some salt and pepper to taste. Lots of pepper:



So, set the sauce to the side. Time to prepare the meat! Kindel wanted shrimp, but I didn't have any, so I used chicken! BUT, where I used chicken, just substitute shrimp! I think chicken with blackening spices is great, so that is what I did:



Christopher slapped it on the grill, but you can cook it in a skillet or in a George Foreman. Be it chicken or shrimp, cook it til it's done:



Here is the seasoning blend I use. It's Tony Chachere's! I don't know how popular Tony is in your neck of the woods, but in Texas and Louisiana, Tony is KING! He goes on everything, and my mom always makes sure that I have a good supply on hand here in Norway:



Plus, look how CUTE Tony is! I have never really looked at him before tonight, but in the close up, he is just so SWEET! You would never guess that he would set your mouth on FIRE:



Now, I like my alfredo with veggies! You certainly don't have to have them, but don't underestimate the importance of a well rounded meal! If you decide to have veggies mixed in, you MUST buy some Ziploc steamer bags! SOOOOO simple! Chop some veggies, I used asparagus, zuchinni and snowpeas, seal the sucker and pop it in the microwave for 3 minutes! That's it!!! And they are PERFECT:



Now at some point in all of this, put some water on to boil for your pasta! I use whole wheat pasta. It's just better for the blood sugar and this IS the beautiful diabetic after all:



That's it! Your chicken or shrimp is DONE! Your healthy alfredo sauce is DONE! Your perfectly steamed veggies are DONE! Your pasta is DONE! Time to throw it all together! Just get a bowl, put in the pasta and follow with all of your other ingredients:



So, I wish I could have eaten this with Kindel, but my company was good with Christopher and the dogs! We ate on the balcony in this gorgeous weather:



That's it! Totally simple and DELICIOUS alfredo sauce! I promise it is not fattening and you will LOVE the way it tastes!

I know I did: