Zucchini Alfredo
 

ZUCCHINI ALFREDO (adapted from Allrecipes)

SERVES: 4 as a side without spaghetti squash; 4 as a main with squash or additional veggies
(original recipe with egg noodles serves 4)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 cloves garlic, minced (or to taste)
1 onion, halved and sliced thin
4 cups shredded zucchini, length-wise into long spaghetti-like strips
1/2 cup nonfat milk
4 (to 8) ounces nonfat cream cheese, cubed (the 8oz might be too much dairy, I just used the full block b/c I knew the rest would go to waste)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (DO NOT USE DRIED!!)
salt and pepper to taste
fresh nutmeg, to taste
grated Parmesan cheese (optional)


1- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic & onion, and cook 2 minutes. Mix in zucchini, and cook 10 minutes, until some of the moisture has evaporated.
2- Pour the milk into the skillet, and stir in cream cheese until melted. Mix in basil. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, to taste, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Variations:

- For Phase 2 or 3 ~ The original recipe has the zucchini in a regular shred, served over egg noodles (I used whole wheat egg noodles for my kids and they LOVED this recipe!!)

- Add a small amount of shredded parmesan to the actual sauce and then a small amount on top of each serving.

- For easier prep, you could shred the zucchini regular (or keep it long) and then mix in spaghetti squash (steamed in microwave or raosted in oven) for amped up veggies.

- Add more veggies such as mushrooms, yellow squash or baby spinach to wilt or chopped spinach. :)

Have fun with it!

Has anyone tried this? I've always wanted to make the zucchini pasta dishes but have never attempted it as it always seemed a bit fiddly.
Is it very hard to make the zuchinni into long strips that will hold once they are in the pan/sauce?
Thanks...