Making the Pasta into a Meal

This is just a picture I found  when I googled "simple meals."

The title of this blog sucks. I'm tired and full.

So Chaley is always asking me to make simple meals. For instance, she will have a craving for-whatever- and will ask me to make it. And I will- but with additions. Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo you say? But let’s turn it up a notch! Roasted Garlic! Cajun Chicken! Sun Dried Tomatoes! Steamed Broccoli in a little chicken broth and lemon! Tomato Paste!

This is sadly never what she really wants (simple classic chicken and broccoli alfredo) but rather, my version of a better more improved meal. I love to look through several recipes seeing what people have done to improve on classic dishes that we grew up on and combine a little of the old with a little of the new. Something even better that she didn't even know she wanted! Only- usually it’s just not what she wanted (hanging my head). But not tonight! Tonight, I resolved to make a simple Alfredo. (But I kept the roasted garlic-I mean come on! Roasted Garlic??? Anyway-) I combined Tyler Florence’s Fettucine Alfredo and an Alfredo Sauce from allrecipes.com. Really, I mainly stuck with Tyler Florence’s recipe and added the nutmeg from the allrecipes version.

RAMPS! OM OM OM!

And I added garlic powder. A lot of garlic powder. Because another thing I am obsessed with is garlic (only closely followed by lemon and onions). I mean ramp season? Obv. one of the best seasons EVER, followed by spring garlic season. Oniony Garlicky Heaven. But I digress =] 

So I threw my broccoli (florets!) in with the pasta for the last four minutes of cooking time since that was in every recipe I perused. And wow it was perfect! (Not like the “crisp/tender/al dente broccoli stalks-read: beasts- that I normally steam and throw in at the last minute) My pasta noodles plumped up and weren’t the most attractive when I threw them in the pot but man oh man were they good! I will definitely be making my own (simple straightforward) pasta noodles in the future, ThankYouVeryMuch Ms. Pennington!


I used those super thin chicken cutlets you can get pretty much
anywhere. In a perfect world I would have bought the Murray’s, but I am poor didn’t I tell you??? So I just picked up the Fairway brand. Sigh. I seasoned them and sautéed them in some garlic olive oil I infused last week. Yummy! Chaley came in and snuck a piece as payment for her having to grate the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Her life is so hard let me tell you :P  I made my Alfredo last, a pint of HWC, mixed in with a stick of unsalted butter, the cup of PR, salt, pepper, garlic powder,-ROASTED GARLIC OHMYGOD have I told you how much I/WE love GARLIC??? Just saying- a pinch of nutmeg and whisked it all together. I threw the pasta and broccoli back into my big pot, cut up the chicken and threw the Alfredo over it all with a quick toss. YUM-O. The best part? Chaley said it was “exactly what she wanted,” the best compliment ever.

 

 This means I get to doctor up her next request right?