Chicken Alfredo with Sun-dried Tomatoes

I honestly rarely eat pasta.  I avoid it because it has so many carbs and is just too many calories.  Sometimes I just want a pasta dinner, so I recently came up with this recipe for Chicken Alfredo with Sundried Tomatoes.  For a pasta dish - it is lighter in calories and filling!  It's also made with whole wheat pasta - so at least the carbs are complex.

My mom came over to watch the Bachelorette with us, so we had a 'Build Your Own Pasta' night.

Ingredients: (I got mine from Trader Joe's)

Organic Whole Wheat Penne Pasta

Sun-dried tomatoes

(Choose a sauce)

Alfredo pasta sauce (try to find light - I couldn't find it this time)

Trader Joe's traditional marinara sauce (or organic marinara sauce)

(Choose a meat)

1 lb. all natural chicken tenders

1 bag pre-cooked shrimp (tails removed & deveined, frozen or fresh)

Cook the noodles according to the package. 

Heat your sauce (or both).

While the noodles are cooking, grill the chicken tenders and shrimp.  I marinaded my chicken in a ziploc bag with olive oil, salt, pepper, and light italian dressing.  Once the chicken is grilled, I slice it up into large pieces to put on the pasta. 

If you are using shrimp, put them on wooden skewers and grill them for about 3 minutes on each side.  Make sure you soak the wooden skewers in water so they aren't a fire hazard.

Build your pasta!  I made mine with the alfredo sauce, chicken, and topped it with the sundried tomatoes.  Enjoy with a salad on the side!

My husband added alfredo sauce and shrimp to his!

Nutrition Information: (3/4 C whole wheat pasta, 3/8 C alfredo, 3 oz grilled chicken breast, 2 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes): 474 calories.  (3/4 C whole wheat pasta, 1/2 C marinara, 3 oz grilled chicken, 2 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes): 389 calories

Enjoy!