Fettuccini in a Cream Sauce

Need a fairly easy meal that can be adapted to vegetarian and several tastes?  Here is one I found that will do it.  I used ham but you can easily substitute crab, shrimp, or chicken.  I also chopped up about a quarter of an onion and added it to the butter about a minute before the garlic but I’m not sure it did anything for the taste.  Remember, never add anything you are not going to taste or is going to overpower the meal.

You can also add a vegetable or two.  I added green peas and would have added cherry tomatoes but at the last minute I found that I had forgotten to buy them.  I would suspect that some zucchini or something like that would be good if added toward the end.

Ingredients:

·         2 cups        cooked chicken or ham cut into strips, cooked crab, or deveined and cooked shrimp

·         1 Pkg         Fettuccine (12 oz)

·         1 Tbl          Butter or margarine

·         2 tsp          Minced garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder

·         8 oz           Cream cheese cut in cubes (about 1 package)

·         2 cups        Milk (cream will make it too thick)

·         ¼ cup        Chopped parsley

·         Grated Parmesan cheese for topping

·         Pepper to taste

Directions:

1.            Cook the chicken/ham/crab/shrimp and place on a dish for use later

2.            Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package

3.            While the pasta is cooking melt the butter over medium heat in a large skillet

4.            Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute

5.            Add the cream cheese and milk

6.            Stir until the cheese melts.  This will take a few minutes

7.            Add the cooked pasta and chicken/ham/crab/shrimp

8.            Stir everything until it is well mixed and covered in sauce

9.            Put on a plate and top with the Parmesan and pepper.