Quick and Easy Alfredo Sauce

Butter.  Butter.  Butter.  If I let go of my self control, I would consume butter at lightening speed.  Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  You can count on it.  But then I can also foresee the near future of that irresponsible me laying under a tombstone with the words "butter overdose" written on it.  Sometimes images like that motivate me to eat healthy.  But every once in a while I still cook with butter.  By the stick.  And this is one of those recipes.  The original recipe calls for one whole stick of butter but I think that 6 Tbsp will do the work just fine.

{ Quick and Easy Alfredo Sauce }

Adapted from allrecipes.com

6 Tbsp butter

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 1/3 cups milk

4 ounces grated Parmesan cheese

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Melt butter in a non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add cream cheese and garlic, stir with a whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out any lumps. Stir in Parmesan and pepper. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with milk if cooked too long. Toss with hot pasta to serve.

Korean Ground Beef

Do you know that ground beef is really hard to photograph?  It's very challenging to take a picture of it and have it not look like poop.  I assure you though that this tastes NOTHING like poop, not that I have ever tasted poop!  Gah, this is really not going the direction I had intended for it to go...

This is yet another Pinterest recipe.  It was super fast and easy, and surprisingly yummy as well!  The recipe was originally from this blog, and the blogger said that she used to make this all the time in college because of how easy and cheap this dish is.  I wish I had known about this when I was in college.

Note: DO NOT omit the green onion!

{ Korean Ground Beef }

From Lizzy Writes

1 tablespoon sesame oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound lean ground beef

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced

1/2 - 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

salt and pepper

1 bunch green onions, diced

Heat sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic and ground beef.  Brown.  Drain most of the fat and add brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, and red pepper.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors. Serve over steamed rice and top with green onions.

Chicken Alfredo Biscuit Casserole

A ten-month-old is so much fun, especially at meal times.  Ever since Ethan learned how to sit, we've been letting him eat with us at the table.  One of my many hopes for my children is that they will grow up to be adventurous and good eaters and that they will learn to love and appreciate food so we've been slowly introducing "adult" food to Ethan and I'm happy to say that he is an excellent eater.  At nine months old, he started eating what we eat (except for honey and nuts) and it has been working really well.  I love watching him explore new foods and flavors.  Here is his dinner menu for these past few days:

Saturday:  Brown rice, tofu, steamed fish, Chinese kale, Mandarin oranges

Sunday: Hong Kong style BBQ pork (cha siu), choy sum, tofu, watermelon

Monday:  Chicken Alfredo biscuit casserole, blueberries

Tuesday:  Rice, BBQ pork, green beans, mango

Wednesday:  Tortellini pesto soup, rolls

I made this chicken Alfredo casserole on Monday and both of my boys loved it.  It makes me so happy that in addition to Jake, one more person is enjoying my cooking now.

{ Chicken Alfredo Biscuit Casserole }

From Pillsbury

1 tablespoon butter

2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 jar (16 oz) Alfredo pasta sauce

1/4 cup milk

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

2 cups frozen broccoli florets, thawed

1/4 teaspoon dried basil leaves

1 can (7.5 oz) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking

spray.

In 10-inch nonstick skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat.  Cook mushrooms and onion in butter, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in Alfredo sauce, milk, chicken, broccoli and basil. Cook until mixture is thoroughly heated and bubbly, stirring constantly. Spoon into baking dish.

Separate dough into 10 biscuits. Cut each biscuit in half crosswise. Arrange around edge of baking dish, overlapping slightly. Drizzle biscuits with melted butter; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

I know it has only been a couple days since I last posted a recipe but this is so good I feel selfish not to share!  This parmesan crusted chicken took me less than five minutes to prepare which was amazing.  I love quick and easy recipes especially now that I have a cute mini man in the house who I'd rather play with than anything else.  Jake and I both love this dish.  The chicken was crispy on top and very moist and juicy on the inside.  Another great thing about this is that it only calls for four ingredients and I bet you already have all of them in your fridge and pantry.  Make this for dinner tonight.  You won't regret it.  Let's get cooking, shall we?

I just went back to the original website where I found the recipe and realized that she had green beans on the side too!  I swear I wasn't trying to copy her.

{Parmesan Crusted Chicken}

From the enchanted cook

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 1 1/4 lbs. total weight or about 5 ounces per breast

4 teaspoons Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

Place mayo and cheese in a small bowl and mix.

Lay chicken breasts on baking sheet (the enchanted cook lines her baking sheet with parchment paper to make clean up easy) and spread mayo mixture evenly atop each.

Next evenly sprinkle bread crumbs atop each.

Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly and juices run clear. Tops will be browned and chicken will be incredibly juicy. Season with a dash of fresh cracked pepper and sea salt, if desired.