Homemade Chicken Alfredo

• 1 (8 ounce) box of fettuccine
• 1 package of non-breaded chicken tenders or boneless skinless breasts
• 1 tbsp of olive oil (used only if cooking chicken in a skillet on the stove)
• 1 stick of butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 + 1/2 cups grated/shredded Parmesan cheese.
• 1 cup of motzerella cheese
• 1 tub of cream cheese
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper (I would NOT use fresh cracked for this recipe)
• Chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional) - (Garnish with FRESH herbs ONLY. DO NOT garnish with dried. The flavor would be too overbearing to use dried parsley flakes)

1. Cook fettuccine according to directions on the package.
2. Brown chicken (cut into bite-sized pieces) in the olive oil OR grill them on an indoor grill (i.e. George Foreman grill). After they're done, let them rest for a few minutes before you slice them into bite-sized pieces to keep them juicy.
3. While fettuccine is cooking, add in the heavy cream and butter into a sauce pan and stir until its hot and bubbly and the butter has completely melted. Add in the salt & pepper and the cheeses and stir until completely melted. This part may take a while - but be patient, its well worth the wait!
4. Cook pasta until its tender and drain.
5. Pour cooked pasta and chicken into a bowl and drizzle over it the white sauce and fold thoroughly until every tender morsel is coated in this YUMMY sauce!
6. Garnish with parsley if you feel its completely necessary. Usually the only garnish I need is some extra parmesan cheese on top! Enjoy!

Okay okay..... I know this is an incredibly sinful recipe, so I put a less guilty version. Replace the five purple ingredients above with these five purple ingredients below. The method is the same.

1/3 cup margarine
1/2 cup evaporated fat-free milk
3/4 cup grated reduced-fat Parmesan cheese blend
3/4 cup of reduced fat motz. cheese
1 canister of fat free cream cheese

This is a very versatile recipe. Feel free to add peas or broccoli, substitute the chicken with shrimp or a mixture of both, and you can also switch up the type of pasta you use, from fettuccini to rotini, penne, or whatever you like!