Alfredo Sauce in your Sleep!

It use to take me a long time to make this sauce, when I first started cooking, i did everything too fast and didn't paid attention to recipes. Now, i work in a steady but fastpace and i can make this sauce in my sleep. 3-5mins, 3 different varieties, simple right? It actually is.

Supplies ( 1 box of spaghetti or Fettuccine pasta)

Pasta, cooked & drained
2TBs of Butter
1 TB  of Flour
Grated Parmasean Cheese
Pepper & Salt to taste
Red Pepper Flakes ( optional)
a whisk
1/2 can Evaporated Milk, 3/4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream or Philadelphia cheese

1. Use a sauce pan and melt butter in pan, add flour  and whisk mixture is completely free of flour chunks.

2. Add salt and Pepper to taste, slowly add your milk (or philly cheese)

3. Add grated cheese and whisk in quick. Bring mixture to a boil.

4. Give another whisk, remove from burner and serve over pasta.


Richness:
 traditional alfredo sauce, uses heavy whipping cream. Evaporate milk (1/2can ) less rich and heavy. Olive Garden method uses philadelphia cheese.

One spicy meatball and sauce...

Meatballs in homemade Ragu

Now that's a spicy meatball.... With that said, tonight menu is about that precise meatball. Making meatball and sauce, is super easy, because you kill 2 birds and one sauce.

Homemade Ragu, a thick and chopped sauce used in Spaghetti, Ravoli, or any other kind of pasta. For tonight, I've used Farfalle (aka bow tie pasta)

Supplies for Ragu and Sauce:

2 lbs of ground beef, reserve a quarter cup for sauce
1 bell pepper, chopped (sauce only)
1 onion, chopped finely (save 1/4 for sauce)
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped and divided
1/2 cup of bread crumbs or dry crumbled bread (must be 1 day old hard)
1 1/2 teaspooon pepper
2 Tbsp salt
11/2 crushed red pepper
1/4-1/2 cup of water
1 cup of tomatoes, chopped
1 can of whole peeled tomatoes *smashed by hands*
3 basil leaves or 1 1/2 teaspoon of dried basil
2 TBSP butter
1/2 cup of parmesean cheese shredded (divided) *save for garnish*
2 eggs

1. Start with meatball, mix all dry ingredients first then add onion, cheese, eggs, and then water,  Shape onto 1 inch balls. On baking sheet 15-20 mins on 325F. The meatball will not dry out, because they're water, that's the secret to keep moist meatballs.

2. White that's getting done, in a saucepan, add butter, wait to melt, sauteed onions and bell peppers.  Then on medium heat, add the reserve ground beef, brown.

3.  Add tomatoes, chicken stock, and spices, let shimmer for 5-8 minutes on low. When you're ready to serve, add cheese, stir, and then turn off burner. (otherwise cheese will separate)

4. Check meatballs, you can either drop them into sauce or serve sauce on top. Add garnish.

5. Enjoy!

Fettucine Alfredo with Chicken and Broccoli

Fettucine Alfredo with Chicken & Broccoli

    It was my mom's birthday, so I decided to make her a big family style meal of Fettucine Alfredo along with chicken and broccoli. Served with a simple Romaine Lettuce and Grape Tomatoes (don't forget croutons)

    I started making Alfredo sauce through trial and error process, using Philadelphia Cheese, or Sour Cream (works, but doesn't thicken that much,) evaporated milk (works and is half the calories of cream) and lastly pasta water ( great substitue for all of the above)  Finally, I found what makes an excellent sauce, that thickens and tastes like it came from a 5-star resturant. I hope you enjoy it too!

Supply List:
1 chicken Breast (cubed)
1-2 cups of steamed and cooled broccoli
1 package of fettucine
1/2 teaspoon of crushed pepper
1 clove of garlic or 1 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/4 cup of parmasean cheese
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
2 1/2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of flour *all purpose*
Salt & pepper to taste
Shredded parmasean for garnish

1. Boil your pasta, according to package direction (10-11 "al dente") In a separate non stick pan, cook chicken breast and add broccoli after chicken has cooked. Set aside.

2. In a saucepan on medium heat, placed butter and wait for it to melt.

3. Add crushed red pepper and flour. Stir to thicken. Salt and pepper to taste.

4. When the flour has completely been mixed add cream to bring to a running boil. When sauce is boiling, turn off stove top and add cheese in sauce and stir lightly.

5. Salt and pepper to taste, take saucepan off of stove top and set to cool slightly. Too much heat with break cheese and cream texture, giving a goopy sauce-texture.

6. Add noodles.  Mix chicken breast and broccoli, either on top of sauce or on bottom.
*Chef Tip: To reheat the sauce the next time, add 1 1/2 tablespoon of heavy cream and heat*