Alfredo Sauce: OG Style

Nothing says comfort like a big bowl of pasta with alfredo sauce and chicken, except of course, done homemade, Olive Garden style. For years, even since before we were married, my hubby and I would splurge on Olive Garden's warm bread sticks, crisp green salad and their to-die-for chicken fettuccine alfredo. Not one to let a recipe allude me, I got on the case right away to make a copycat version at home. It took a few failures in order to get it right but once I did, I had a hard time going back to plain old bottled alfredo. And my hubby eagerly awaits the days I make it for dinner, literally licking the bowl clean...sad, but true. It's a little time-consuming but once you got it down, it's easy-peasy. The secret?? Cream cheese. At first, I thought it just seemed gross but nothing else will give the sauce that rich and creamy taste and texture. It only takes a couple of ounces mixed in the sauce to make it over the top delicious! You'll not only have an amazing result at home, but you'll save money too!! For the price of one serving at Olive Garden, you'll make four at home!  If you've yet to try this dish homemade, I strongly urge you to. You'll never want to go back to bottled!

Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
1 pound pasta, any kind (preferably fettuccine)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pint heavy whipping cream (NO substitutions!!)
2 oz. cream cheese
1 stick butter
3/4 cup parmesan cheese (fresh or canned..any kind will do..)
salt and pepper to taste
parsley, for garnish

Bring water to boil for pasta. Meanwhile, brown the chicken in the olive oil and garlic in a large saucepan on medium heat until chicken is cooked through, about ten minutes. Put chicken aside and get pasta cooking. In same pan melt butter, cream cheese and heavy whipping cream on low heat until fully melted and creamy. Then, turn the heat up to a low simmer (do not boil!) and add the parmesan cheese and salt and pepper. Let simmer about ten minutes or until thick and creamy. Add the chicken back into the sauce to heat and serve immediately over pasta. Garnish with parsley. Enjoy!!


Melting butter/cream cheese...                 The sauce...                             And the finished product!

Homemade Meatballs

Pasta tends to be my go-to for a quick and tasty dinner. Normally, I pair it with a bottled sauce and call it a day but recently, when dinner called for something hearty, I decided to pull out the big guns. Homemade meatballs are so easy and fast to prepare, there's no reason not to make them! Simply mix one pound ground turkey, beef or whatever you prefer, and add about two tablespoons Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and a hearty handful of parmesan cheese. Then, liberally douse with ketchup! Mix together and shape into small balls, about the size of a teaspoon and bake for twenty minutes at 400°. 

The leftovers make delicious meatball sandwiches when placed on my favorite Hawaiian bread, topped with a little sauce and mozzarella. That's what we're having tonight! Yum! 

What's for dinner at your house??

Taco Night

Eager for an easy, Crock-Pot take on tacos, I thought seasoned shredded chicken sounded great! All this recipe requires is three things: a Crock-Pot, a pound of chicken breasts and an Ortega Grande Dinner Kit. This kit is great because it has both flour tortillas and crunchy shells, taco seasoning and sauce...all for about three dollars. It has everything you need to make a quick dinner! 

Simply place the chicken in the Crock-Pot on low for five hours, covering halfway with water and the seasoning. Shred once cooked through and is falling apart and serve with lettuce, tomato, avocado..etc. Give it a try..it doesn't get any easier!

A Love Potion

My daughter asked me this afternoon if we could make a love potion. I cringed inside and immediately responded with "ummm, no, I don't think so" It was a knee-jerk reaction, one that was based on pure instinct and self-preservation. I could just imagine my kitchen with juice, sugar, spices and whatever else the kids wanted to add to the potion, spilled all over the floor. "Please, mommy!", my daughter begged, blue eyes sparkling. I decided to suck it up and let them do a love potion after all. So we gathered ingredients into  plastic cups, got everything together and headed to the patio. There they spent a whopping ten minutes mixing up their potions and loving every minute of it. Sure, it was short-lived but my kitchen was spared and I got a teeny bit of peace and quiet. So sometimes you have to be creative and give kids their way while still getting yours!
How do you steal a little peace and quiet??

Pad Thai in No Time

Sick of my usual dinner fare, I picked up an Archer Farms Pad Thai kit from Target the other day. I've made it plenty of times homemade but decided to try it with a pre-made sauce. It totally hit the spot! The kit contained a generous serving of Pad Thai sauce and dry noodles. I was able to boil those in just five minutes while I cooked some chicken breast to go along with the meal. I added the sauce and a few peanuts for garnish and voila! Dinner was done! You can throw this together in literally ten minutes and add protein or not. Although a homemade sauce will trump store bought any day, this came so close it wasn't even worth bothering with homemade again. If you've never tried this dish, I strongly encourage you to. The flavors, while sweet and tangy, are still mild enough for even the pickiest of palates...and I know picky!!
What's for dinner tonight??

Disneyland: A Review

We planned and saved for months for a day at Disneyland with our kids. We ended up going right at the start of Spring Break and though it was busy, it ended up better than I expected. In fact, it was nearly perfect! The weather was mild, we only waited a half-hour at the most for rides and were able to knock out a bunch of our favorites as well as those the kids requested.
We started off early as we had reservations for the Character Breakfast at the Plaza Inn, totally a splurge but worth every penny. Not only was the buffet yummy, but the kids got to visit with character after character as they perused the restaurant. If you're going to splurge on one meal at the park, this is the one to go to. After a quick potty/sunblock application break, we were off to our first ride, the Jungle Cruise. We spent the morning in lines for The Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean then headed over to Toontown in hopes of some more character sightings and lunch. Sure enough, there was a line to visit Goofy and after fueling up with hot dogs, we were ready to go. I have to say, although some snack items are steep, lunch seemed pretty reasonable. For $30, we all ate a hearty lunch and I was happy to see that the kid's meals came with apples and carrot slices. They gobbled them right up!




After Toontown, it was time to move on. Off to Fantasyland we went, hitching rides on the carousel, Pinocchio's Daring Adventure, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and the Teacups. We also waited to visit with Rapunzel. We decided it was time for an ice cream break, so off to Main St. we went.
  

Bellies full, we headed to our last ride of the day and the one we waited the longest for, the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage in Tomorrowland. Yes, the line was long but it was one we all wanted to go on and though there were a few frustrating moments with the little ones, they were very patient overall. Once we finished that ride, which was totally worth the wait, by the way, we wandered the park a bit, stopping at Pixie Hollow for a few pics of Tinkerbell's house then grabbing a kid's meal in Tomorrowland before heading out.
While the kids happily munched dinner in their strollers, we navigated the streets and stopped just once more before leaving. Letting the kids choose one final treat, a Mickey-shaped rice krispie treat for Jovie and a giant sucker for Logan, was the grand finale. A shuttle ride later and we were heading to our car just before nine. The kids were exhausted and fell asleep in the car and mommy and daddy enjoyed a peaceful ride home.

Here are a few tips to make your visit a more pleasant one:
- Keep your expectations low. You will NOT do everything in one day, and things won't be perfect. You will get tired, you may feel like your legs are going to fall off and you will probably end up sunburned. The kids will misbehave at some point and you might get grouchy with your spouse (or maybe that's just us!) But having realistic expectations helps. Go with the flow!
- Take a look at the map before heading off for the day and pinpoint what you really want to do. Keep in mind at least three or four rides you want to go on and make it happen. It's surprising how you end up in a time warp at Disneyland. An hour feels like fifteen minutes and before you know it, it's meal time or potty time then time to go!
- Bring your own snacks and drinks! This will save you a ton of time and money and allow you to pull out what you need before any meltdowns occur.
- Bring strollers for the kids!! My daughter is five and hasn't used a stroller for a couple years but we were soooo grateful we brought an extra one for her. It made navigating the crowds easier and faster and prevented her little legs from getting too tired and more importantly, from us having to carry her!
- Choose your splurges. Maybe you really want to let your kids pick souvenirs or you want to get face painting or a caricature. Whatever it is, go for it and enjoy it.
- Take many, many potty breaks. Nothing's worse than being halfway through a line when a child announces they have to go. Luckily, that didn't happen to us because mommy happens to have a tiny bladder in addition to being four-months pregnant so I had to go anyway. But it's best to know where the nearest restroom is at all times!
- Lastly, be prepared!! Bring extra snacks, clothes, wipes...etc. Anything you even think you made need, bring it. You'll be happy you did and better to have a little too much than not enough. This is where the stroller thing comes in...load that puppy up!
I hope you have the chance to take a family day somewhere special like we did. It truly couldn't have been any better. The smiles on my children's faces and the memories we made were priceless! It's something we hope to do every couple of years.
Where are you headed??

My Freestyle Spring Wreath

I was on a mission to "spring up" my dreary front door and had great plans for a handmade wreath. As I sized up raw grapevine and foam wreaths at Michael's, I realized I would much rather spend that money on a meal out with my family, a new shirt or a movie with my honey. I'm frugal and it's just hard for me to spend money when I know I can do something for free! So I got home and got hunting. I have a lot of scrap fabric on hand from projects past and present and thought that would be a good place to start. I used a large piece of cardboard and cut a square to make a template. I planned to pad it with more fabric or Styrofoam but opted to take the lazy route and just decorate the cardboard! First, I cut long strips of beige fabric and wrapped the board. Then, I cut squares of fabric and made them into "flowers", hot-gluing those to the wreath randomly. One last piece of beige fabric was used to make a small bow to hang and voila! A handmade wreath in no time that was most importantly, completely free!!! I challenge you, use and repurpose items you have around the house to make something totally new!
What will you create??