(Slightly) Healthier Fettuccine Alfredo

I have been trying to find "the perfect" cream sauce for pasta for a while now, and I think I may have finally found it!  One day I even threw caution to the calorie count and tried making authentic Alfredo sauce but it was so rich I got a tummy ache.  This version isn't exactly healthy, but it's definitely healthier than heavy whipping cream!

(Slightly) Healthier Fettuccine Alfredo (with chicken)

1 lb fettuccine

1 lb chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

2 tbsp olive oil

1 shallot, diced

2 tbsp flour

1 cup chicken broth

2 cups whole milk

4 oz (1/2 a block) Neufchatal cheese

2 cups parmesan cheese, shredded

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

dash of nutmeg (optional)

1 tbsp fresh parsley (optional)

Get your fettuccine started first because it's a thick pasta and needs to boil for a while.  I used 3/4ths of the box. 

In case you don't know what a shallot looks like, here is one.  Something my mom definitely didn't cook with!  It seems like cooking has changed a lot since the Food Network came into being.  Like remember how no one cooked with real garlic?  That was unheard of.  All old recipes reference garlic powder.  Anyhoo~

Chop your shallot into very small pieces, which is a little difficult.

Grate a ton of parmesan cheese!  I really didn't measure it, I just grated until my arm hurt.  Probably about 2 cups.

Heat a skillet over medium heat.  Add olive oil.  Saute shallots until soft-ish.  About 2 minutes.

Add flour and stir to combine.  The mixture should be smooth of any lumps and paste-y.

Add chicken broth and stir to combine.  A whisk really helps get the lumps out.  Let it heat up for a few minutes.

Add milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg.  Stir to combine and let heat a few minutes more.

Add parmesan cheese and stir to combine.

I'm not entirely sure what Neufchatal cheese is.  It's similar in calorie content to reduced fat cream cheese, but it seems to be a lot creamier.  I really like the texture.  Anyway, it looks just like cream cheese.

Add half the block to your sauce.  Break it up with your spoon and whisk to combine. 

Add your chicken (if applicable).  One day a few months ago there was a big sale on chicken breasts so I bought a bunch, separated them into Italian, Mexican and plain.  I marinated/seasoned them accordingly and grilled them because I like chicken breast when it's grilled 100x more than baked in the oven.  I chopped and froze them in 1 lb bags.  The day before I made this dish I put my 1 lb of Italian chicken in the refrigerator and right before adding to the sauce I microwaved the bag for 1 minute.  It turned out great!

Bring your sauce to a boil, then reduce to low and let it cook 2-3 more minutes.  Pour over your fettuccine and let set for 2-3 more minutes.

Serve hot with a little fresh parsley and extra parmesan cheese on top (optional). 

These two really liked it, although they both ate all their broccoli first.  And I didn't even bribe them!

I'm sorry but I have to brag - look at these plates!  My little veggie eaters.  Now if I could just figure out how to get Gigi to eat fruit.

Christmas

So, Christmas pictures are way overdue but here are some anyway!

So, so grateful that our daycare has Santa come to school so we don't have to deal with the mall!

I hate my hair (and my face) in this picture but it's the best one we got.  Amy, can you come take Christmas Eve pictures next year?  Props to A-Dub for semi going with the wardrobe theme.  I know you think I'm crazy, but in my defense, I already had mine and Bobo's outfits - wasn't planning on matching - when I found the dress for Gigi.  From there on I couldn't resist.  Got a lot of stares at church.

Yes, she was saying "that's mine!"

Santa brought her everything on her list!  If you are disgusted by the number of presents under our tree please know we had 9 people opening gifts.  We really tried to tone it down (which we say every year) but between Santa, parents, grandparents and aunt it adds up to a lot of presents.

Bobo loves animals, especially lions.  So it was fortuitous that "The Lion King" was the Disney movie that was for sale this Christmas.  And we have watched it probably 100 times.  Bobo can kind of say lion, but usually what he does is pick up the DVD case and bring it to us.  It's so cute (but really, I've about had enough of Simba and Co.)!

Transferring stocking goodies to a new purse/bag.

Can you see how the flame on the candle on the right is way higher than it should be?  I guess I should have recognized that something was wrong with it, because something happened to it--I have no idea what--but I came in the dining room to find a small portion of the tablecloth underneath the candle ON FIRE.  I quickly doused it out (I don't even know how--a water glass I guess) and everything was okay, except my pretty table cloth and our table has a black spot on it but it's already very dark brown so I think it will be okay with a little TLC.  So glad I happened to come back in the dining room or who knows what would have happened.  The candle had burned strangely - a portion of the side of it had burned down way more than the rest of the candle so I'm not sure what happened.  Maybe the lighted wick fell off onto the table?  Anyway, it still didn't ruin my fun tablescape :)

Opening presents was so tough that this guy had to take his first nap at like 9:30am! 

We got matching boots :)  And we wore them to the mall one day, and got more stares, and I heard a lady say "oh look, they have matching boots," which pretty much made my day!

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas as well!

What's For Dinner

Last night we had a really good dinner so I thought I'd share in case you're in a post-holidays dinner rut.

Crockpot Pork Loin

3 lb pork loin (I don't know how this is different than a pork tenderloin other than that it is bigger (and fattier)?)

1 bottle Kroger brand herb and garlic marinade (or really, any marinade that sounds good to you)

1 can chicken broth

salt and pepper

I rubbed salt and pepper on the pork loin and marinated it overnight in the herb and garlic marinade.  In the morning I dumped it all in the crockpot, poured in the can of chicken broth and cooked it on low for 6 hours.  Super easy and dee-lish.

Dill Roasted Carrots

These are so good and so easy!  Kiddos eat them by the handful.  I have to make a ton.

1 bag of carrots - however many you think your fam will eat

dill

salt

olive oil

Preheat oven to 375.  Peel your carrots and slice them into diagonal rounds.  Put in a big Ziploc bag.  I usually fill it up about halfway.  Add salt (1-2 tsp?), dill (1 tbsp?) and olive oil (2-3 tbsp).  Shake it around.  Dump carrots out onto a cookie sheet (nonstick is best).  Cook for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Rachel Ray's Smashed Potatoes with Herb and Garlic Cheese

I did not do the scallions because Gigi wouldn't eat the potatoes with them in there and they aren't really necessary.  Also I used 2% milk so they'd be a little less fatty.

Yum!

I just wanted to share what two bags of carrot peels look like.  Since we all gobble down these carrots I have learned that one bag is not enough.  I knew two bags would be too many though so I sliced the extra carrots and froze them.  Will let you know how those turn out.

Eeek!

I am way overdue for a post!  Apologies!  Part of the problem is that our computer is sorta old (5 years--I personally think that is not very old . . .) and I've been having trouble uploading pictures.  It's taking for-ev-er. 

Also I am still recovering from the holidays I think.  I have been so tired lately!  Anyhoo, I promise, new posts coming soon!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

For Soup:

2 tbsp butter

1/2 a yellow onion, diced

4 stalks celery, sliced

4 large carrots, grated and sliced

1 pound chicken, cooked and diced or shredded

8 cups chicken broth*

1 can cream of chicken soup*

thyme and parsley (fresh or dried)

salt and pepper

1/2 package egg noodles* (whole grain or regular)

For Grilled Cheese:

8 slices bread*

4 tbsp butter

4 slices American cheese

1 cup shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese

* I tagged this post as gluten-free but I considered adding a new category called gluten-free(ish).  It is gluten-free provided that you use gluten-free versions of the starred(*) items.

 

Melt 2 tbsp butter in a large pot over medium heat.

 

Put sliced carrots in a Ziploc steam bag and steam for about 4 minutes.  This will help move you along in the cooking process because carrots can take a long time to get soft.

 

Chop your celery.  I like mine in the little crescent shapes.  Also it's faster.

 

Dice half your onion.

 

Add onions and celery into hot, melted butter and let cook until they are soft, about 5 minutes.

 

Chop up your chicken, or in our case, leftover turkey from a Christmas get-together!  This is probably more than a pound, but you know A-Dub likes his dishes to have a lot of meat.  You can add as much or as little as you like.  Those grocery store rotisserie chickens would be great in this.

Next add the steamed carrots, chicken and the 8 cups of chicken broth to the pot (or in our case, 8 cups of water and 16 tsp of this broth base which I was trying out).  I realize this isn't necessarily the best reason . . . but this was really good and I prefer it to real chicken broth because it is saltier.  I know, the sodium.  Don't care.  It was so yummy.  It did make the soup have a slightly green tinge though.

 

Next add the can of cream of chicken soup.  You could leave this out for the calorie's sake, but I like it because it makes the soup a little creamy.  Also add the half a package of whole grain egg noodles (or however much depending on how noodley you want your soup).  I have given up on most whole grain pasta because it never seems to cook and ends up having more "bite" than I like in my pasta.  But I do like the whole grain egg noodles--they taste just like regular ones.

Add your fresh or dried parsley and thyme (I happened to have fresh on hand but generally never do and dried is just as good) and salt and pepper to taste.  Stir it up and put the lid on the pot, bring the soup to a boil and let cook until the noodles have softened, about 10 minutes.

 

While the soup is cooking, heat up your griddle pan or skillet to medium, if you have one.  I love my griddle pan because it does 4 sandwiches at once!  But since A-Dub doesn't like grilled cheese (I know, can you believe it?) I just made 3.

So you're probably wondering why I am bothering to post a recipe for a grilled cheese sandwich.  Well, that is because there are grilled cheese sandwiches and then there are Taylor's grilled cheese sandwiches.  Sorry to toot my own horn, but if you can't toot your own horn, whose can you toot?  (Credit: Dana Kantalis). Here is how to make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich.

Obviously the most important part is the cheese.  You must use both Deluxe American slices (NOT the individually wrapped American slices) and cheddar or another melty cheese.  I always use at least 1 slice deluxe American and about 1/4 cup shredded cheddar or Mexican blend.  But I will also throw in pretty much any cheese we have on hand.  Shredded Monterrey Jack, mozzarella, sliced provolone or sliced muenster are also very good.

Lay out your bread slices and butter them.  Try not to tear your bread apart like I did here.  Yeesh.  I usually use margarine but I'd already used that pat of butter earlier so I used real butter.  I think the marg spreads a little easier.

Place first piece of bread, butter side down, on hot griddle.  You could spray your pan with Pam, but if you put enough butter on your bread you don't really need it.

Then add about 1/4 of a cup of your shredded cheese.  You want to add your shredded cheese first, so it can get melty so it will stay in place when you flip your sandwich.  Also, don't measure your cheese, just add a small (or large, what the heck) handful.  You need to be fast!

Then add your slice of American (and then provolone in our case).

Top with other piece of bread, buttered side out.

Quickly assemble your other sandwiches. 

Flip your sandwiches after they have spent 2-3 minutes on one side.  Don't let them burn!  There's nothing worse than a burned grilled cheese sandwich.  No one wants to eat it (don't even think your kids will!) and you definitely don't want to have to start over.  I almost burned these while taking pictures!

Once your second side has cooked as well, transfer to the plate and do not cut it immediately!  If you do, all the cheese will ooze out of your sandwich on to the plate.  Let the sandwich sit for a minimum of 2 minutes undisturbed (3 is better but if you're impatient, 2 will do.  This will let the cheese set and when you do cut it into slices the cheese will stay put.

Yum.  So it's a little overly specific for instructions on how to make a grilled cheese but it is the perfect grilled cheese.  I should know, I have spent years perfecting it!

When your sandwiches are done, your soup should be too.  Since this soup has been boiling, it may help to throw an ice cube or two in your soup bowl to help it cool down, especially if you're giving it to kids who are too impatient to blow on their spoon. 

Enjoy!

Letters to Santa

This picture pretty much sums up how this girl feels about her Daddy.  They were writing her letter to Santa.  Here is hers:

Later she helped write Bobo's letter to Santa.  She thought we should ask Santa for a rainbow truck, a rainbow school bus, a rainbow Elmo and a rainbow animal puzzle for him.  Should be interesting to see what Santa comes up with!

I didn't get a picture of that so here is a cute picture of him with his socks.  He loves getting socks out of his or Gigi's sock basket and carrying them all over the house.  Surprisingly, we only have a few pairs with missing mates.  Also, check out that belly! 

Sorry I have been MIA.  More posts to come soon!