Grilled Chicken Alfredo

First, I want to apologize for my brief absence in posting anything new here at Cooking On A Budget as I spent the last 3 1/2 days with my son and his fiance who came down from Salem, Massachusetts. On Saturday we had one of our sons and my daughter and their respective other halves here for a family dinner.

As we all have been eating heavy winter meals, snacking on delicious appetizers and eating large holidays meals I thought it would be good to have a lighter yet filling meal. The decision was Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad with home made Caesar dressing and home made Croutons. As an alternate dressing for this wonderful salad I made some Creamy Dill dressing.

To that end we had some extra grilled chicken available which I decided to use for another meal as hardly anything goes to waste in our home. Making over the chicken into something other than a chicken salad or used in a wrap for a sandwich I decided to create an Alfredo sauce

First using a grill pan or outdoor grill, grill the chicken breasts until the internal temperature is 165°. Allow them to rest before slicing as you would a piece of beef. Here's how I did mine:

• 2 large chicken breasts - boneless and skinless (sliced in half lengthwise)
• seasoned both sides of the chicken with a house seasoning mix
• cooking spray for the grill grates
• regular olive oil

Make sure your grill pan or grill grates are hot. Spray on some cooking spray to avoid sticking. Brush a thin coat of olive oil on the chicken and season both sides. My house seasoning mix is:

• 2 tbsp. granulated garlic
• 1 tbsp. onion powder
• 1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1. In a small bowl combine all ingredients and mix well. Store left over spice mix in a sealed container. Lasts 3-4 months.
2. Prep your chicken by washing under cold water and removing any silver skin, extra fat and any white tendon you may find. Dry the chicken with paper towels. Using a sharp knife and placing your palm on top of the chicken, cut the breast in half lengthwise. (end to end)
3. Coat the chicken lightly with the olive oil and season both sides.
4. Grill about 3-5 minutes per side depending on the thickness of the chicken or until the internal temperature on an instant read thermometer reaches 165°.
5. Let the chicken rest and make the Alfredo sauce.

Alfredo Sauce:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1/8 tsp. grated nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. white pepper
• Fresh or dried parsley (optional) 

1. In a sauce pot over medium to medium low heat, melt the butter. Add in the heavy cream and warm to a low simmer (just until the outer edges start to bubble).
2. Next, whisk in the Parmesan cheese, nutmeg and white pepper until incorporated and keep whisking until the sauce thickens slightly. If you dip a spoon in and it coats the back of the spoon, the sauce is ready. 
3. Add fresh or dried parsley right at the end and toss. 

Once the sauce is made you can slice your chicken into strips and add cooked pasta to the sauce along with the chicken. I recommend egg noodles or fettuccine pasta cooked according to the manufacturer's directions on the box.

 

By the way I had egg noodles left over so the only cost I had to the dish was the Alfredo Sauce. A great left-over make over meal that cost us so little. I did figure the cost from scratch as well using two versions. The first is using as is with heavy cream in the sauce: $11.29, feeding four for $2.82 each. Using half in half in the sauce: $9.04, feeding four for $2.26 each.