Chicken and Veggie Alfredo

When I think about the joys of life, I think of a sweet sleeping puppy, wildflowers blooming in the springtime and butter and cream.  And freshly laundered crisp cotton pajamas.  Sometimes these all come together.  Well, they didn't EXACTLY all come together at the same time for me, because it's summer.  BUT ANYWAY.  I made a pasta alfredo with some chicken and all sorts of yummy veggies.  Behold.

I had never made an alfredo sauce from scratch, but I was so happy to find out that it was a cinch!

First, set some water to boil and get your spaghetti or fettuccine or whatever ready to cook. 

Then, get some chicken and slice thinly.  Sautee until cooked and then set aside.

Repeat with some lovely veggies of choice.  I went with a nice assortment of summer veggies here.

I literally chopped up what was in my fridge.  Follow my lead!

Here's the magic stuff.  Butter, a stick of it or 1/2 C, plus 1 more Tbsp.  And 3/4 C of heavy cream.  And 1/2 C of grated parmesan plus more for the sprinkling.  Also, have some salt and pepper on hand too.  Never hurts, right?  This magic stuff is very, very naughty.  But you know what?  Live a little.  Don't eat like this every day.  But if you had a bad week or got some fabulous news, or it's a cause for celebration, invite your nearest and dearest around you and whip this sauce up.

Now, what I did here is put the butter in the same Dutch oven that you browned the chicken and veggies in.  It was a good idea.  Scrape up the brown bits.  Stir.  Believe.

Then drain your pasta and dump into the butter and add the chicken and vegetables.

You can stop here and add some of the pasta cooking water and some salt and pepper and be pretty happy. But let's not stop here, okay?  Let's venture a little further down the rabbit hole.

Add cream and cheese and some of the pasta cooking liquid and some salt and pepper.  Then add that extra tablespoon of butter.  And stir it all together.  Adjust according to your own taste.  I use tongs to toss all the noodles and veggies and chicken so it gets evenly coated with cream and butter and cheese.  I know!  So good.

Throw it in a bowl.  Sprinkle some more parmesan on top.  It's what your Mom would want you to do.  And stand up straight, for crying out loud!

I added some fresh cracked pepper on top.  I roll like that.  

But let's get down to brass tacks here, folks.  This recipe is easy, but also rich and delicious.  It's very simple, but don't let that fool you.  It is really, very delicious.

I adapted it from this classic recipe from Gourmet magazine and now available on Epicurious.  And by adapted, I mean I added chicken and veggies.

Enjoy, people!