Today is my “just say no” Monday.  It’s a little something my wise (don’t tell her I called her that) sister does as a stay at home mom and I stole the idea from her!  Monday is my day of the week that I “just say no”.  I say no to play dates.  I say no to going to the grocery store.  If anyone asks me to do something on Mondays, I just say “no”.  No is a difficult word for many of us.  Why do I say ‘no?’  Because Monday is my cleaning day and it is also my spiritual focus day for the week (I’ll share more of that in the next post…the spiritual part was birthed out of the story I am telling)

I broke a few rules today.  I did go to the grocery store and I did take B to the library.  However, the cleaning got done in record time and so I was able to break the rule without sacrificing clean potties and scrubbed kitchen floors.

This afternoon I have been making preparations for tonight’s supper and I thought…I have got to share this recipe with my blog friends.  Some of you have shared with me that you are on your own journey to shed a few pounds.  Back in the spring when I was shedding pounds, I spent a lot of extra time on my elliptical.  To compensate for the extra time, I would look through recipe books and do a little mental menu planning while I worked out…nothing like pictures of casseroles and Italian creme cake to make you work out harder!  By the end of this “self boot camp,” I had come across a lot of healthy recipes that I wanted to try. 

One of the recipes I found was tucked in a magazine I had from 2007.  It is a healthy alternative to ultra fattening chicken alfredo.  I was a skeptic at first.  I really am not a huge alfredo fan, but mainly because it is too heavy for my taste.  But I thought I might give a lighter version a whirl.  This recipe has become a favorite of mine to cook because it is super easy to make, it is jammed packed with nutrition, and my kids gobble it down.

So….for an intermission to the story I am telling…here’s a recipe I love (The original recipe called for half the amounts of the sauce ingredients, but my family wanted more sauce so I doubled the origninal):

Fettuccini Alfredo

Ingredients:

2 red peppers, cut in half, seed and ribs removed

2 cups reduced-fat cottage cheese

4 T. chicken broth

1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1 clove of garlic, minced

Salt and pepper

10 oz package frozen broccoli, chopped

12 oz package whole-wheat fettuccini

 2 cooked chicken breasts sliced into strips OR

             5 cooked turkey/spinach sausages sliced into bite sized pieces

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Roast red peppers cut side down for 20 minutes, until skin is blackened and peeling away.  Remove from oven and let cool.  When they can be handled, peel off skin and cut pepper into long strips.  Set aside.

In a blender or food processor, puree cottage cheese and chicken broth until no curds remain, approximately 2 minutes.  Stir in Parmesan cheese and minced garlic.  Season with salt and pepper, if needed.  Set aside.

Cook broccoli according to package directions.

Cook fettuccini according to package directions.  Save ½ cup of pasta water before draining.  Drain and return to bowl.  Stir in cheese sauce, peppers, and broccoli.  Thin out sauce with reserved pasta water if needed.  Place chicken strips (or sausage) on top of pasta and serve.