Signore Alfredo

Viva cucina Italiano!  Who is this Alfredo guy anyway?  Whoever he is, he makes the best pasta sauce.  I recently came upon a mega easy alfredo sauce recipe and made some modifications to suit my family.  Here it is in all its simplicity.  It is so dang easy, it's great for nights when you have to throw something together fast.  And it kinda tastes like Olive Garden's alfredo. Bonus!

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup butter
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 Tbsp dried parsley flakes. plus more for garnish
1 pkg (5-6 oz) shredded parmesan cheese

Salt & pepper to taste

*(Note: I just use a tsp of minced garlic that comes in a jar)
In a saucepan on med-high, saute the butter and garlic together, then mix in the cream and parsley. Heat until barely bubbling then turn down to med-low and add in parmesan and stir until melted.

I serve this with cut up cooked chicken pieces over fettucine noodles.  If you want to use chicken too, then cook the pieces before you make the sauce, set aside, and add into the sauce when it's done.  I like to mix the sauce into the pasta so it's all coated, then I serve it in a big pasta dish with extra parsley sprinkled on top to look pretty.

Dinner Rolls (so addictive!)

I know I recently posted about dinner rolls, but who couldn't use more bread recipes?  And besides, the other post used fridge rolls from a can.  These are homemade, and they taste like someone loves you!  My husband and children are always requesting these rolls.  I make a double batch every time because 12 rolls just isn't enough - you'll find this out for yourself.

I make mine and knead the dough in my Kitchenaid mixer.  I know that a Bosch mixer can also handle the kneading, or you can simply do it the old-fashioned way: by hand (gasp!).  So I will tell you what settings I used according to the Kitchenaid. This recipe is beautifully simple.

 Dry Ingredients:                Wet Ingredients:
2 cup flour, divided             2 Tbsp. butter
1 pkt. rapid-rise yeast         1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp. sugar                     1/4 cup water
1 tsp. salt

In the mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour, the yeast, sugar and salt.  In a small microwaveable bowl melt the butter in the microwave for about 20 seconds.  Then add the milk and water and microwave for another 30-45 seconds until very warm.  Add the butter mixture to the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl and beat on med-low (setting #2) for 2 minutes, scraping the bowl often.  Add the remaining cup of flour and mix for 1 minute at med-high (setting #4), scraping when needed.  Then turn down to low ("Stir" setting) for 5 minutes to knead.

Scrape the sides to get all the dough into a ball and spray the sides of the bowl with cooking spray to keep it from sticking as it rises.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes (I use those elasticized bowl covers that look like shower caps - I get them at the dollar store or Walmart).  Spray a 9" round pan and then spray a cutting board and turn out the dough. Gently shape into a round (without smashing it down too much) and then cut into 12 even pie-shaped pieces with a sharp knife (I spray my butcher knife for this).  Roll up each piece from wide end to narrow (like a croissant) and place in the pan with 9 around the edges and 3 in the center.  Cover again  (pull up the plastic to make a high "tent" if you're using those "shower caps" so the dough won't stick to it as it rises) and let rise for 45-60 minutes (45 minutes is usually just fine for mine, I live at 4900 ft altitude).  Preheat oven to 375F degrees, then bake for 17-20 minutes.  Brush tops with melted butter after taking out of the oven.  Lovely!!!!!