Light Alfredo Sauce

I love to eat Alfredo sauce, but with every bite I take, I can feel my arteries clogging and my hips getting fatter.  Have you ever ordered Alfredo at a restaurant and then tried to heat it up the next day?  The butter and cream usually separate and that’s when you can tell exactly how much fat it took to make your delicious meal.  It’s at that point when you start to panic. 

When you go out to eat, you can pretend to ignore fat and calories because you don’t know what ingredients are being used in the dish you ordered.  You can try to assume they used just a pat of butter and a smidge of cream and bury your head in the sand.  Or, you can learn to make a healthier, low-fat version of the same dish you crave.

That’s what I did and I’ve never been tempted to order Alfredo at a restaurant again.  In my recipe, I use 2 tablespoons of butter and skim milk.  I know you’re thinking there is no way it can taste as good as a recipe using a stick of butter and cup of heavy cream, but it does.  To me, it tastes better because I don’t feel guilty eating it either. 

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a pan on low-medium heat.  Add 1 clove of garlic.  If you’re not a big garlic fan, just cut the clove in half and let it flavor the butter.  Remove when it starts to brown.  If you like garlic, mince or press half the clove into the butter.  After the butter is melted and before the garlic gets brown, add 3 tablespoons flour.  Let the flour cook for a few minutes so the rawness cooks out. 

Slowly, while stirring, add 1-1/3 cup milk 1/3 cup at a time, letting the mixture thicken after each addition.  After the milk has thickened, add ½ cup shredded parmesan ¼ cup at a time, stirring after each addition.  When stirring in the parmesan, make a figure 8 with your fork or whisk.  This allows the parmesan to evenly melt into the sauce.  Stir in 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg and your sauce is complete.  This recipe serves two.

Stir in your favorite pasta and veggies and top with your favorite meat for a complete meal.

Meats that taste great with this sauce are chicken, shrimp, lobster, scallops, and crab.  Cheese and seafood ravioli work well too.

Vegetables that taste great stirred into the sauce are spinach, broccoli, sugar snap peas, sliced mushrooms, julienned red bell pepper, julienned roasted red pepper, and julienned sun dried tomatoes.