Pasta Alfredo With Blackened Chicken

One thing I've missed, over the last 20 months, on the "Wheat Belly" program is PASTA!  One dish in particular keeps coming to mind, and that was a "Blackened Chicken Pasta" I used to order at a restaurant that is no longer open in my area.  It was so tasty and spicy!  I missed that taste, that spice, that texture, while eating healthy on the "Wheat Belly" diet.

So, I've been on a search for a pasta substitute, and I've found a couple, and one still eludes me; a garbanzo flour pasta.  I don't know if it's in a package, or if you have to actually make it.  But I'm looking!  (UPDATE: I may order this one!)

The one I tried tonight was made by Tolerant, and it was good, very good in fact!  I just happened upon it at local "earth store".   Tolerant makes their flours from legumes, which is "kosher" too.

I found a fettucine alfredo in Dr. Davis' book, so I basically followed that recipe for the sauce, but embellished on the cheeses and spices; adding chicken (blackened, of course).  It turned out beautifully.  My wife, who doesn't follow "Wheat Belly" as closely as I, raved about it and wants more!

The recipe can be found HERE.  Follow that recipe, except substitute whatever "safe" pasta you have or can find.  I used the following cheeses, making the alfredo, as directed, but I added a 1/4 cup of mozzarella, 1/4 cup of diced sundried tomatoes.

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

We decided on peas as the side dish, but a salad, or asparagus would work well.

Here are the photos from tonight's cook:

FINALLY, A KNOXVILLE KIND OF PLACE TO EAT IN ROANE COUNTY

I went to lunch today with my wife and daughter, and it was our first time at Redbones on the River in Kingston, Tennessee. The luncheon turned into the day’s big meal!

The old home, situated across from the Kingston City Park on Watts Bar Lake, has been turned into a very nice looking restaurant, with beautiful shiny wood floors, dark wood tables and chairs, with just the right amount of light coming in from outside. You can also sit outside, on one of two decks (upper and lower), if you prefer the summer heat to refreshing air conditioning! Not us, we appreciate old fashioned AC!

There are sitting areas all over the place, including upstairs near the tastefully decorated bar, which features a good selection of pulls, including my favorite – Fat Tire? After the wonderful meal, I sneaked up the stairs to get a “bar shot” for my bar collection on Flickr.

We ordered the fried green-tomatoes as an appetizer and, wow, they were fantastic! They were those droopy, soggy kinds you get some places, these were crunch fried with a horseradish dip. They were simply a wonderful way to prepare your palate for your entrée.

Judy and I ordered half-rack of Baby-back Ribs, baked potato, and Spinach Maria, while Tracy wanted the Chicken Alfredo with broccoli.

We had thought about a club sandwich, a burger, or a salad for lunch, but after seeing all the steak, seafood, pasta dishes, we decided that lunch would be our dinner meal as well. There was no forcing us to only eat one meal today either. After finishing the generous meal, we were too stuffed for dessert, even though the Chocolate Bar Cake kept calling our names!

So, the next time you are looking for a classy place to eat, or just have drinks with friends, but don’t want to drive the 40 miles to Knoxville, check out Redbones on the River in Kingston. You’ll be glad you did.

BLACKENED CHICKEN ALFREDO – WITH A TOUCH OF RED!

I’ve been trying to watch what I eat, and thus far I haven’t missed a bite that goes by me! I was up to 247 at the doctor’s office today, but that didn’t stop me from wanting and fixing me a tasty pasta dish.

There used to be a place in Knoxville called McGuffey’s, but has since closed, which served the most wonderful blackened chicken pasta! They even put a slice of cantaloupe on the side, and man that was just the best taste combination you could imagine.

So, last night I boiled some Barille Penne pasta, fried some chicken tenderloins, and chopped up a huge red bell pepper, some dried tomatoes, some mushrooms, and a large onion, and proceeded to build two plates of the most lip smacking taste combinations! I didn’t have a cantaloupe, but that didn’t matter much. I seasoned the tenderloins with salt, pepper, and Cajun’s Choice Blackened Seasoning, and fried them to a deep golden brown, almost black in some spots!

I poured me a glass of Yuengling and started cubing up the chicken I fried in EVOO, garlic, and hot sauce, and then I chopped up the pepper and the onion. Once the pasta was drained and set aside, I put the Classico Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo on to heat. In the same EVOO that I cooked the chicken in I dumped the mushrooms and dried tomatoes in and sautéed them for about 2 minutes before plopping in the peppers and onions.

I had salted the chicken tenderloins while cooking, and then the vegetables as they started to wilt. Leaving the vegetables slightly crunchy, I dumped them over the top of the pasta, and then added the hot Alfredo sauce and mixed it thoroughly.

Mmmm, look at that serving on the plate…some good garlic buttered bread would have been great too, but alas, I’m cutting back!

WALNUT SHRIMP ALFREDO

I didn’t have any “ribbon like” noodles for a fettuccini, so I had to use a “round like” spaghetti noodle instead!

It don’t matter, if you’re cupboard doesn’t contain everything you need and your in a hurry and hungry…improvise!

I found frozen shrimp, so I let it thaw a little and then pulled off the tails, and then cut it into bite size pieces.

I boiled the spaghetti, which only took 9 minutes, strained the water off, put it back in the large deep pan it was cooked in, and set it aside. I added a little more salt to the noodles for taste.

In a saucepan I heated Bertolli’s Mushroom Alfredo Sauce over low heat.

I cut up a large onion, chopped up a big handful of walnuts and set them aside.

In a large hot skillet, I poured in some olive oil, dumped in a large spoon of garlic, added the onions and walnuts, some hot crushed red peppers, some dried tomatoes (I like a lot of the sweet taste), some salt, and black pepper, and a large jar of sliced mushrooms. Once this mixture began to steam, I dumped in the shrimp and stirred it for about 10 minutes (only slightly longer for fresh shrimp).

When the onions begin to turn transparent, dump it all over the spaghetti and mix.

That's it!

As an extra, I think cooked bacon or a spicy sausage would compliment the flavor. If I’d had some, I would have used it.