Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken

We love pasta in our family. We were lucky enough to go to Italy a few years ago, and that only fueled our love for all things Italian. Giada de Laurentiis has always been one of my favorite chefs to watch and make her food. Everyday Italian is a great show- I have 3 of her cookbooks and I use every single one of them, although her Everyday Italian cookbook has been used the most. It is a great resource for basic Italian cooking. The Lemon Spaghetti page and the Fettuccine Alfredo page are splattered the most!


Giada's Fettuccine Alfredo
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 to 2 tsp. grated lemon zest (from about 1 lemon)
pinch of nutmeg
salt
9 ounces fresh fettuccine (I used a bag of dried fresh fettuccine, it made a difference)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

I cooked the chicken first. I had chicken tenders. After thawing them, I put them in a ziploc bag with olive oil, lemon juice (not too much), garlic salt, and any herbs I had on hand. I let that marinate for a bit while I got everything else ready. I heated up a saute pan with olive oil and cooked the tenders through. I set them aside on a paper plate to start the sauce.

In the same pan, I added 1 cup of cream, lemon juice and butter-stirring occasionally until the butter melts. Add lemon zest and nutmeg. At this point, you can pull it off the heat, cook your pasta and then put it back on the heat to finish up. After your pasta is cooked, drain it and add to the pan with the cream. Add the remaining 1/2 cup cream, the Parmesan, and salt and pepper. Toss over low heat and sauce will thicken slightly, about 1-2 minutes. Serve with chicken.
*Sorry for not many pictures! I was in a hurry to get it on the table, and that is usually when I forget to take my pics.
This is great alfredo. It will thicken up at the end, so give it a few minutes. Manga!!

Father's Day Breakfast

This should really be called Gramp's Breakfast. My Gramps ate this every Saturday, and most Saturdays I was with my Granny and Gramps eating with them. I used to think it was gross how the egg was runny, until I tried it!!!
This was what I made Sunday morning for my great hubby, an awesome father to our 2 crazy kids!!

Eggs, sunny side up

maple bacon

Granny toast

The bacon takes the longest, so get that going first. I placed the bacon on a cooling rack, with a baking sheet underneath it, to catch the grease.
Then, brush it with maple syrup. My hubby loves maple bacon, but we didn't have any and I remembered my Dad telling me about brushing the bacon with maple syrup for a more intense maple flavor.

Bake the bacon at 375 or 400 for about 30 minutes.
Put a pat of butter in a skillet at medium heat. Crack the egg, sprinkle with salt. Cook the egg white all the way through, but don't turn over- you don't want the yolk to cook through.
The Granny toast- My Granny always broiled her toast.
Butter the toast on one side, and turn the oven to broil.
Broil for just a minute or two. Don't forget about it and keep checking it!!!
It only takes a minute or two, really.
The buttered side gets toasty, and the other side stays soft. YUM!
The bacon was really good, very sweet. If you only want a hint of maple syrup, just brush it once. I brushed it 3 times, and it was sticky and sweet!! Really yummy, but maybe too sweet for some. I love making breakfast, and this is one of my favorites. It was a hit!!

Cutest thing EVER

Bakerella is incredible!! This is literally the cutest thing I have ever seen. It's all edible- and sweet!!! I am seriously thinking of trying this. Cupcake buns, brownie burger with frosting condiments and sugar cookie french fries. She even has the links for the templates for the basket and paper. She is so thorough, too. In the post, she shows pictures and outlines every step. Have you ever seen anything so precious?

Weekly Menu

I was out of commission (well, my computer was) last week, so I have a longer than usual menu list. These are some of the meals we have eaten in the last two weeks. I bought 2 rotisserie chickens last time I went to the grocery store, they were on sale 4.99 each. I came home and immediately chopped up the chicken. We used it for 3 dinners- barbeque chicken sandwiches, King Ranch Chicken and chicken salad sandwiches. I love it when the rotisserie chickens are on sale- it makes my evenings alot easier!!!

Barbeque chicken sandwiches, potato salad
(chopped rostisserie chicken with barbeque sauce, piled on a toasted bun)

Chicken fried steak sandwiches, fried potatoes and onions

Taco Salad

Breakfast for dinner
(pancaked, scrambled eggs, bacon, fruit salad)

Meatloaf, mac n cheese, spinach

King Ranch Chicken

Chicken Salad sandwiches on croissants, corn on the cob

Sauteed tilapia, garlic mashed potatoes, roasted squash and zucchini

Stuffed chicken breast, mashed potatoes, broccoli with lemon butter

Carrot and Cream Cheese Muffins

I think I have said this before, but I should probably have a "cream cheese" label. Anytime I see cream cheese in a recipe, it is hard for me to pass it up!! I saw this recipe on Full Bellies, Happy Kids and got the ingredients I was missing to make this immediately. These muffins are moist, with that line of cream cheese goodness running through the middle- OH!!! They are really great, and easy to make.
Carrot and Cream Cheese Muffins

1- 15 oz. can sliced carrots, drained
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1-1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon each ground allspice, cloves and nutmeg
egg
1/3 cup canola oil
FILLING:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar

Puree the carrots in a food processor. Whisk carrots, egg and oil in bowl.Mix dry ingredients- flour, sugar, spices, salt and baking sodaAdd dry ingredients to carrot mixture.
Fill muffin tin 1/3 of the way full with carrot muffin batter.Mix filling ingredients- cream cheese, egg and sugar.

Drop tablespoon size spoonfuls of cream cheese mixture on top of carrot batter.Top with a dollup of carrot batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350.
Mine baked for 24 minutes.