Chicken, Sausage and Vegetable Alfredo

I love vegetables.  All kinds.  I have to really think hard to find a vegetable I do not like.  Because I love vegetables so much, and because they are so healthy for us, we eat a lot of them.  In fact, we eat a much larger variety of vegetables than a lot of vegetarians and vegans we know.  Strange as they may sound, it is very true.   It is recommended we eat at least five servings of vegetables per day.  Easy-peasy.    I always use a wide variety of vegetables in almost every meal I prepare.  I serve vegetables with more vegetables, and I mix all colors and textures of vegetables too, which also ensures we get a wide variety  of nutrients.  Often times, we have 5-7, or more, varieties of vegetables in one meal alone.  There is definitely no problem with us eating our daily recommended amount of vegetables in this house.  I could easily be a vegetarian if only I didn’t like meat so much.  I am definitely an omnivore and eat everything, so there is also a fair amount of meat in our diet as well.  My husband eats more meat than I do, and he wants it with every meal.  I am quite satisfied with eating it once a day.

I started off wanting to making just a simple chicken, broccoli, mushroom Alfredo, but it turned into much, much more.  Along with the chicken, broccoli and mushrooms, I also added carrots, red peppers, both white and green onions, Anaheim peppers and a jalapeno pepper, along with sausage, basil thyme and oregano.  So just in this one meal alone, I used eight different vegetables and three different fresh herbs.  I also added some sausage as well.  This is very typical of how I cook.  Because I love so many different kinds of food, and I am definitely NOT a picky eater, I always add more.  More is better, right?!  (Not always, but often this is the case).

I bought a rotisserie chicken from Costco that I shredded and cooked my sausage and set them aside.  I sliced all my vegetables and sauteed them together until they were cooked and softened.

If you do not want to add any meat, the vegetables alone would make a great meal in and of themselves, served with Alfredo sauce and pasta.

Once the vegetables were all cooked, I removed them from my pan and made my Alfredo sauce.  In the same pan, with all the drippings from the vegetables and sausages, I poured in about 1 cup of a dry white wine.   Let the wine reduce down to about half, then added about 1 1/2-2 cups of heavy whipping cream and mozzarella cheese.

Add the vegetables and meat, mix well and continue to cook at a low simmer for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the seasonings and herbs.

Once it has all cooked and the sauce has thickened a bit, it is ready to add over your favorite cooked pasta. Because this is a thick, hearty sauce,  I would recommend using a heavier pasta, like fettuccine or farfalle (bow-tie).  Add a little garlic cheese bread, more cheese to the pasta if you like, and serve with the wine of your choice.  I used a light, crisp viognier to help balance out the meal since I served it with a heavy, hearty sauce.  Mangia!  (The wine is from one of our local wineries, that is only about 5 minutes from where we live.  It is from Turquoise Mesa Winery, in Broomfield, CO).  This is definitely one of those meals where there is no specific recipe and I just used what I had on hand.  We always have a wide variety of vegetables.

Garlic Alfredo Sauce

1 cup dry white wine

1 1/2-2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

salt & pepper to taste

1 TBSP garlic

1-2 TBSP butter, + more after the sauce is cooked as a finish (optional)

 

Saute the garlic in butter for about 2-3 minutes.  Add the wine and reduce by about 1/2.  Add the heavy whipping cream and cheese and mix well.  Add salt and pepper to your taste, and any additional seasonings and/or herbs and mix well.  You can use this sauce as is, or serve it with vegetables and/or chicken, sausage, shrimp or scallops, and serve over cooked pasta.

*** I almost always serve a garlic-herb cheese bread when i make this meal, and I add the leftover butter from my bread to my sauce.