Creamy Chicken Fettuccine

I figured it was time for another pasta recipe.  If I could I would eat some sort of pasta dish everyday!  I don't make it as often as I would like because, besides the fact that it's not all that healthy, my husband, for some odd reason, is not as big a fan of pasta!?!?  So whenever I rate pasta dishes, it might be a little higher than you might think it should be, if you're not a big fan, like my hubby.  Anyways, I found this recipe when I was having my brother-n-law and his wife over for her birthday a while back.  Her favorite food is Chicken Alfredo, so I wanted to find a good recipe, that's when I found this, another recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  I really like this recipe because it tastes so fresh!  With the zest and juice of a lemon and the fresh basil it really makes it taste so good.  It's really quite easy and quick too :)  I made it again a couple of days ago, this time I pre-made it so I could just heat it up when we were ready to eat.  Worked out great!  I rate this recipe a 4.

Look how creamy!  I made it a little saucier than the recipe calls for b/c it's not that saucy of a dish.  So if you like more sauce w/ your pasta consider making more of the sauce or less noodles.

This doesn't look as good because this was when I reheated the pasta.  I got impatient waiting for it to heat all the way through so I took out a serving a little earlier.  My 2nds were a lot more creamy looking, like the top picture, b/c it had more time to heat up.

Creamy Chicken Fettuccine

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut crosswise into 1/4-inch strips

salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon grated zest and 2 tablespoons juice from 1 lemon
1 pound fettuccine
2 cups frozen peas
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup chopped fresh basil

Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken until no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Add garlic to empty skillet and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add cream, lemon zest, and lemon juice and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and keep warm.

Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta to boiling water and cook until almost al dente. Add peas to pot and cook until bright green, about 1 minute. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, drain pasta and peas, and return to pot. Add sauce, cheese (gradually stir in or it'll turn into a huge clump of cheese like when my mom made it), basil, and reserved chicken to pot and toss to combine, adding reserved pasta water as needed. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately (or reheat like me!).  Enjoy!!!