Easy Pasta Alfredo

I talked last week a bit about celebrating our 13th anniversary (it only feels like 12, I swear!)  When we first got married, I was a novice cook at best.  I found that I rotated the same meals over and over, it went something like this: pizza/beef tacos/eat out/subs/pasta/pizza/take out....you get the idea.  

I remember feeling a little offended when my hubby told me that he liked tacos, just not as frequently as we were having them.  It was around that time that I discovered my favorite mag, Real Simple and their series, Fake it Don't Make it.   The Broccoli Alfredo soon became one of his very favorite meals and it was so simple to make.  For nostalgia sake, we decided to make it again (it has been a while.)  It's so easy and delicious, with a few updates it was even better!

Ingredients
  • 1  tablespoon  salt
  • Box of pasta - whatver you have on hand
  • 4  cups (8 ounces) of brocoli florets
  • 1  cup parmesan cheese 
  • 1/8  teaspoon  cayenne pepper (optional)
  • 1/4  teaspoon  nutmeg (optional)
  • 1 1/2  teaspoons  freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 clove of fresh minced garlic

Directions

  1. Place the salt in a large pot of water and bring to a boil.
  2. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions for al dente. During the last 3 minutes, add the broccoli. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water. Set aside.
  3. Place the butter and garlic  in the pot, reduce heat to medium-low, and stir until melted.
  4. Add ½ cup of the reserved pasta water. Stir in ⅓ cup of the Parmesan. Add the pasta and broccoli and the cayenne and nutmeg, if using. Toss.
  5. Remove from heat and sprinkle with ⅓ cup more of the Parmesan and the pepper. Toss again, adding more pasta water if the pasta is too sticky.
  6. Serve in bowls and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.

Enjoy!

Comments

  1. Yum! My kids seem to really like the broccoli pasta combo, so we are going with it :-) I have a hard time making things with cheese though, because one kid likes it and one doesn't. But, I think I could easily adjust this to just put cheese on individual plates. That epicurean butter looks delicious too!

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  2. This looks yummy! Think I'll have to try it out on the kids. Never heard of epicurean butter; where did you find it?

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