Throw together crab pasta

This throw together recipe is almost too easy to share but I think it's a great way to showcase how you can really make "throw together pasta" with random things in the pantry / freezer slightly more glamorous than it sounds.

I love imitation crab meat and I am fully aware that this is a bit odd (and I'll be honest - this is probably the real reason I didn't want to put this post together because you'll think I'm weird). If you're not familiar with the stuff, I buy something that looks similar to this:

Anyway it's something I pick up every now and then to have on hand which is what happened on this particular occasion. There was a bit of a transitional period for meal planning when the CSA started back. This was throwing me off my weekly meal planning a bit and I knew when I was at the grocery store one day that I had a few days at the end of the week I wasn't sure what we'd have yet. So I picked up the crab meat and then a few days later realized we could make a homemade alfredo sauce, there were peas in the freezer, and then were onions and garlic in the pantry waiting to be sauteed and all served with some whole wheat spaghetti!

Skinny Fettucine Alfredo from gimme some oven
Serves 4

Ingredients
12 ounces fettuccine (or any pasta shape)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
3 Tbsp. flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup low-fat milk (I used 1%)
3/4 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Directions
Cook pasta al dente according to package directions, in generously salted water.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute one minute, stirring occasionally, until fragrant. Sprinkle with flour, and stir to combine. Saute for an additional minute to cook the flour, stirring occasionally.
Slowly add chicken broth, whisking to combine until smooth. Whisk in milk, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Let cook for an additional minute until thickened, then stir in Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper until the cheese melted. Reduce heat to medium-low until pasta reaches al dente.
Drain pasta, then immediately add pasta to the saute pan with alfredo sauce. Toss to combine. Serve topped with chopped fresh parsley if desired.

While the sauce was being made, water was being boiled for the pasta. Then in a saute pan over medium heat with a little extra virgin olive oil, we sauteed a diced onion and added garlic after the onion had softened. When the pasta had 2-3 minutes left we added in the peas. Finally everything was tossed together with the sauce!