Zesty Chicken Alfredo

Total Time: 50 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 4 -6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, fat discarded,washed,patted dry,and cut in bite-size pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract (if you can find it, optional, but a great flavor addition)
• 2 teaspoons grated lemons, zest of, yellow part only
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic granules
• nonstick cooking spray
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lb sliced, cleaned mushrooms or 2 (6 ounce) jars canned mushroom slices, drained
• 2 -3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 (16 ounce) jar healthy choice four-cheese alfredo sauce or 1 (16 ounce) jar mushroom alfredo sauce (or other purchased low-fat alfredo sauce)
• 4 -5 cups cooked rotini pasta or 4 -5 cups other short pasta, cooked in boiling salted water until al dente and drained (see text, below regarding timing)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (to garnish) (optional)

Recipe

• 1 rub chicken breasts with lemon oil, if using.
• 2 sprinkle both sides with lemon zest, pepper, and granulated garlic, and set aside for 15-minutes for flavor to develop.
• 3 start to heat salted water to cook the pasta, but don’t cook it until you start to make the sauce.
• 4 spray a large, nonstick skillet with nonstick spray, add olive oil, and place over medium heat.
• 5 when hot, add chicken, and cook until done, but still springy to the touch, and lightly browned on both sides, about 5 minutes per side.
• 6 remove chicken from skillet and keep warm.
• 7 if using fresh mushrooms, add to pan, increase heat to high, and cook for about 5 minutes.
• 8 remove mushrooms from pan using a slotted spatula, leaving juice behind.
• 9 if not using fresh mushrooms, drain all excess oil from pan, leaving browned bits in pan.
• 10 reduce heat to medium if necessary.
• 11 add pasta to boiling water.
• 12 add lemon juice to skillet, and deglaze the pan, scraping up all browned bits from cooking chicken.
• 13 add mustard and alfredo sauce, and stir until combined.
• 14 simmer until heated through.
• 15 stir in chicken and mushrooms, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low until pasta is done.
• 16 serve sauce over pasta and chicken.
• 17 sprinkle with parsley if desired.
• 18 serves 4.
• 19 note!!!! ingredient should be lemon oil, not extract. recipezaar recipe software changed it to extract and will not let me make the correction. sorry about that!