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.

Weekly Menu

Tuesday:
Chicken piccata with creamy lemon sauce
(the pics for this one got lost... I guess I'll have to make it again so I can post it- Darn!! :)

Wednesday:
Spaghetti and meatball bake
cheesey bread sticks (you really don't want to try these...they are TOO good)Thursday:
grilled chicken (hubby was off and grilled outside!)
baked potatoes
roasted carrots

Friday:
fried pork chops
roasted potatoes, zucchini and squash

Fried Pork Chops with Potatoes and Onions

This is some comfort food for you!! My best friend's mom made the best pork chops growing up, and I had lunch with that best friend recently and she told me exactly how her mom made those great pork chops!! I've made them twice since I let with her a few weeks ago :)
It's a simple dish, but they are full of flavor. Marinate the pork chops in Italian dressing for at least 30 minutes, then dredge them in seasoned flour. Fry 'em up and you have some yummy chops!!!

Fried Pork Chops
pork chops (I used boneless, but you can use bone-in. You need to butterfly them if they are too thick)
Italian dressing
flour
salt and pepper

I butterflied the chops, and seasoned them with salt and pepperMarinating in the Italian dressingI seasoned the flour with Lawry's season salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Dredge the chops well in the flourFry up in the hot oil, about medium heatGet nice and golden
Pork Chops, Part 2:
I made these again last night. For my husband's chop, I stuffed his with ham and Gruyere cheese after they had marinated in the dressing. Then, I dredged them and fried them like the others.
I cut up potatoes and onions, and cooked them in the same pan that I cooked the pork chops in.
I told you this was comfort food for you!Sooo yummy! Crispy on the outside, with all the yummy flavor from the pork chops. Don't forget to season the potaoes and onions with salt and pepper.

Roasted Garlic

I love garlic. One of my favorite smells, not just food smells- any smells, is garlic sauteeing in the pan. It smells SO good!! Roasted garlic is really yummy. Garlic gets sweeter as it cooks, and when you roast it, it gets soft and sweet. It's really good to simply spread on bread, or add it to your mashed potatoes. You could absolutely set it out as part of your appetizer tray with bread or crackers.

Roasted Garlic
head of garlic
olive oil
salt

Cut the end of the garlic head, so it is exposed.

Place garlic head(s) on a piece of foil. Sprinkle with salt and olive oil.

Wrap and place in hot oven- 400 degrees. Roast for 45 minutes.
Open and let cool. Squeeze out the garlic.
Spread on bread or add to mashed potatoes.

Weekly Menu

Monday
Orange chicken, sauteed zucchini, chow mein noodles

Tuesday
mini meatloaf sandwiches, carrots, mac n cheese
I made the mini meatloaves, cut them in half and put them in a roll. It was something different! We have meatloaf a lot, so I have 3 different varieties, and am always looking for ways to mix it up a little bit. The sandwiches were great!

Wednesday
Brisket sandwiches, Red, Hot and Blue potato salad
This potato salad rocks!! No mustard, no mushy potatoes- just YUM!

Thursday
chicken Caesar salad with quick homemade Caesar dressing

Friday
Hubby taking me out!!

Potato Salad

I am not a potato salad fan. I always thought it would be something I would like, so I have continued to try every potato salad passed my way. My uncle brought some potato salad to a family get-together from a barbeque restaurant- Red, Hot and Blue. I tried it, because I always try it, and it looked different. It was not yellow and mushy. AND, I saw hard-boiled eggs in it. I LOVE hard-boiled eggs. Well, it was just about one of the best side dishes, not to mention the absolute BEST potato salad, I had ever had.
I had brisket sandwiches on the menu for this week, and was trying to think of a side dish. I thought, "you know what I really want?? That totally awesome potato salad from Red, Hot and Blue" (a restaurant I have never actually been to)
I went to the internet and up came several posts and forums from foodie sites about this exact salad!! I was so excited! I looked at almost every recipe, and came up with a consensus recipe.
This is easy, and oh-so-good. No mustard, not mushy and served at room temperature.

Red, Hot and Blue Potato Salad
8 new potatoes, steamed
4 hard-boiled eggs
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped
1/4 tsp. celery salt
salt and pepper to taste

I set 4 large red potatoes in the steamer basket. They took about 30 minutes.

Hard boiled 4 eggs
(I only used 2 for the salad. I made deviled eggs with the other 2. I know- I have a problem.)

Let potatoes cool a bit. Cut into large, bite-size pieces.
Chop boiled egg (whites only) into chunks.
Put chunked potatoes and eggs in bowl.
Season with salt and pepper. Add mayo, chives and celery salt.
Mix well.
IT'S SO GOOD!!! I am bringing it to a get together this weekend, and my husband is demanding it become a staple (and not many things get "staple status"). MAKE THIS!! It's really great and different from most potato salads- I really loved it and I hope you will try it!