I Can’t Believe it’s Not Alfredo!

Chicken Alfredo is usually made with parmesan cheese but what do you do when you don’t have any? Use what you have duh! Read on so I can tell you how I make my “I Can’t Believe it’s Not Alfredo”.

What you will need:

• 2 Chicken Breast Cubed or Sliced
• 4 Strips of Bacon Fried and Chopped
• 1 Stock or Bag of Thawed Frozen Broccoli
• 1 Onion Diced
• 1 Red Pepper Charred or Buy Prepared (Roasted)
• 1 cup of Milk
• 2 tablespoons of Flour
• 1/4 cup Melted Butter (Unsalted)
• 1 Cup of Provolone and Cheddar Cheese (Mixed) Or Whatever Combo of White Cheeses you like
• 1 1/2 cups of Penne Pasta
• 1 tsp of Onion Powder
• 1 tsp of Dried Basil
• 1 tsp of Oregano
• 1 tsp of Thyme
• 1 tsp of Paprika
• 1 tsp of Black Pepper and Salt to taste

Chef Notes:

Fry your bacon ahead of time and chop them up. Reserve the fat to sauté the chicken in for extra flavor. Also try not to eat the bacon. We all know how hard that can be lol. The bacon is a garnish along with the parsley.

When cooking the chicken make sure it is cooked all the way through and has a bit of browning. Sauté your vegetables until desired texture but don’t go to soft because you don’t want them to taste like mush. Using fresh vegetables are best for this meal but if you have frozen no big deal. Just thaw them first so they don’t water down your creamy sauce.

When making your milk sauce make sure you cook the raw taste out of the flour it should take between 1-2 minutes. The butter and flour will have a nutty smell at this point. Then stir in the milk using a whisk. This will make for a smoother sauce.

When preparing the pasta make sure you under cook it by a minute so when you add it to the milk sauce it still keeps its integrity. The pasta water will thin the sauce if you find it to be thick. Just remember the pasta water has salt so be careful during the seasoning stage. You want a bowl of delicious pasta not the sea.

Lastly when melting your cheese remove it from the heat and let it melt gradually. This will create a more velvety texture to the cheese sauce. This can also be baked as a casserole.

Please use this recipe as a template to create your own delicious creations. Remember #jerseyisnaked on instagram so I can see your wonderful dish.

Happy cooking Bareian Friends!

Watch the Demo Here: