Gotta Love Food

Ever since I was little, I watched my mom and my grandma construct delicious dishes in the kitchen, and I wanted to be able to cook like them when I grew up. I remember watching the Food Network all the time, especially Rachael Ray's shows, Unwrapped, Emeril, Iron Chef, Paula Dean's shows, and a bunch of other ones. I got my first Rachael Ray cookbook when I was 8, and I tried recreating her recipes myself. Now that I'm older, I've actually made up my own recipes, especially for pastas and pizza and some desserts.

 

My first recipe I made up was my own version of chicken alfredo. It's my favorite dish at my favorite restaurant, Olive Garden, and I wanted to have it all the time so I figured I'd make it myself. I made this up based on what ingredients I found around the house. 1 batch feeds about six people.

 

·         1 to 1 1/2 jars of Prego Alfredo sauce

·         1 box of any pasta of your choice; I like radiatori or penne pasta because they're bite-sized

·         1 onion, white or red

·         Minced garlic, 2 cloves

·         Chicken (varies on what you have around): 2 chicken breasts, thawed and seasoned when you cook them; about 10 chicken nuggets, cut up; 4-5 chicken filets, depending how big they are

·          Italian seasoning (if you have it)

·         Broccoli (optional) or any other vegetable you want to cut up in there

·         About 1 cup of milk

·         Parmesan cheese, however much you want, if any

·         Salt and pepper

 

I always start by cooking the pasta first, that way I can cook the whole dish in one pot without dirtying too many dishes. Boil the water and add salt to flavor the pasta. Let it cook until it's al-dente, or cooked to your liking, and strain it.

 

Turn the heat down to medium and put a little oil in, enough to lightly coat the bottom. Cut up the chicken, whatever kind you decide to use, until it's brown. Add a little more oil if you need to and add in the onions, garlic, pepper and any other seasonings or vegetables you want.

Once everything is cooked, turn the heat down to low and pour in the alfredo sauce. Add the milk and as much parmesan as you want and stir until there are no lumps of cheese left. Add the pasta and mix it all up. Add more cheese or spices of you'd like.

 

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm hungry.

 

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