Simple Homemade Pasta Sauce - A quick dinner idea.

Life continues to be busy around my little world. While I am a big cook and I love it, there are nights I just don't have the time or energy. With simple and quick recipes like the one I share now, it makes it much easier to cook on those extra busy days. I am aiming at making more simple and quick meals for myself. No more of that fast food or pre-made meals. I figured with the busy schedule being a common thing, I might as well share my adventure and the recipes. 

Asparagus Mushroom Browned Butter Alfredo

Pasta, Vegetables, Heavy Cream and Cheese…sounds like a great dinner to me.

As you can see, a great dinner it was. 

At first bite, I decided this was a recipe that I just had to share. While I've tried to start gearing the blog back to the sugary treats, I can't help but share some of my savory dishes. In fact, I may start doing it more. After all, this IS a food blog about MY culinary journey.

Anywho, back to this deeeelicious dish. I had a craving for some fresh vegetables and pasta which led to this recipe. As I was thinking of what to make I figured why not throw them in some alfredo sauce. I've made an Alfredo sauce before, but I thought it was a bit heavy and missing something. I searched around the net at various recipes. I found it hard to settle on just one or find any real inspiration from what I did find. So, that made me get off my toosh and get in the kitchen and create my own. 

While I was in the midst of creating this recipe there was a slight, or so I thought, mishap with my favorite ingredient...Butter. I LOVE butter. When you sauté with butter, you must watch it…I didn't. When I turned back to the stove (I was chopping veggies. Be sure to do this step before you start cooking. haha) the butter had brown, verging on quickly becoming burnt butter. Thank goodness I had ninja reflexes and saved the butter. It had browned just enough to add that extra layer of flavor to the final sauce. Lessons learned and a better dish from a little scare. 

This recipe is very simple and quick. I urge you to give it a try and leave comment on your own cooking experience. Here's the recipe...

Asparagus Mushroom Browned Butter Alfredo

makes 3 servings

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

1 cup fresh asparagus, cut

1/4 cup butter

1 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cups Parmesan, shredded

1/4 cup Applewood Smoke Gruyere cheese, shredded

2-3 teaspoons dry parsley (1/4 cup fresh)

salt and pepper to taste

8 oz dry pasta (I used Fiori)

Directions:

1. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Salt and add pasta. Cook until al dente. 

2. Heat oil and add onions. Cook until almost translucent, then add mushrooms and garlic. Cook until liquid from mushrooms is reduced. Add Asparagus and cook until asparagus is just tender.

3. In a medium saucepan cook butter until browned, then add cream. Bring to a simmer then add Parmesan. Cook until melted. Add the Gruyere and cook until melted. Add parsley, salt and pepper. 

4. Assemble; place pasta in a bowl, add a layer of vegetable, and top with sauce. Enjoy!

OH AND Breadsticks! I didn't alter the ingredients in the recipe I found here from Over The Big Moon. I did, however prepare mine in two different ways. I made one large loaf after a little kneading and cut it into strips. I then twisted each strip a little and placed them, spaced apart, in a pan. To add some flavor I melted butter with garlic and parsley. I then brush the mixture on the dough just before placing in the oven. With 10 minutes left to bake I sprinkled the breadsticks with shredded Parmesan. 

Caramel Sauce

Spiced Caramel Macchiato and Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

In this post I've included 2 recipes for Caramel Sauce and a recipe for a Caramel Macchiato.