The Alfredo and Spinach Dip Recipes

Stole these once from Olive Garden's website and no idea where they are now, so it's going here. The Dip is too delicious. Everyone eats it all before I can get some usually. It made my Aunt Jo like Spinach Dip again.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

1 14oz can of artichoke hearts, drained and sliced

1 lb cream cheese, ROOM TEMP

8 oz mascarpone cheese, ROOM TEMP

1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1/4 tsp fresh thyme leaves

1/4 tsp chopped red pepper

1 TBSP fresh parsley, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

5 green onions, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1 6 oz package of spinach, chopped

Italian Bread

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (to drizzle, fo shizzle). 

Mix all that in a bowl. 

Coat 9x13 pan with olive oil. Fill pan with mixture. Bake at 325 for 25 minutes until bubbling and center is hot

Drizzle both sides of bread with olive oil and grill

Sprinkle dip with some parmesan. 

Things I do different. I do 8 oz of cream cheese because I don't know how to read. Instead of parmesan, I use shredded Italian cheeses (the Parmesan, Romano and Asiago). The original recipe said crushed red pepper, and i use chopped fresh red pepper and add a little crushed from a spice jar to it, like 1/8 of a tsp. I guess all my tsps and TBSPs, and I go over on it to more like 1/2 tsp for the thyme and red pepper, and 1 very heaping TBSP of parsley. I only chop my green onions half way up. I've done both fresh spinach and frozen spinach, and it tastes about the same. I usually add a tsp of Fennel to it, but I didn't this last time. When it was done, I topped it with some chopped red pepper and chopped tomato, and it's really good on celery too, as well as crackers, flat bread, tortilla chips, and by itself on a spoon. 

The Alfredo Sauce... this is an art. 

3 cups milk

3 cups heavy cream

1 cup Parmesan, grated

1 cup Romano, grated

12 egg yolks 

salt and pepper

Original procedures:

1. Heat milk and cream in heavy bottom saucepan until it begins to simmer. Turn off heat. Slowly whip in cheese, then remove from heat.

2. Place egg yolks in a separate bowl and slowly whip in a portion of the hot milk and cream mixture. Slowly add egg yolk mixture back into remaining cream mixture. Place back on very low heat and continually stir until simmering. Take sauce off heat so it thickens. (This will increase temperature of egg yolks, known as tempering). 

3. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over favorite pasta.

How I do...

Have serving bowl ready, or a bowl for the sauce when it's done...

I stick the milk and cream on a nonstick pot (the deeper the better) and turn on medium to medium high heat. Then I separate the egg yolks from the whites putting the yolks into a big metal bowl. I also get my cheese ready in another bowl. I usually use shredded 3 italian cheeses, 2 cups of it. While I do those things, I frequently go back and stir the pot of cream just to make sure there isn't any burning on the bottom. I usually use a wooden spoon for this so I can leave the spoon in the pot. 

When the milk/cream starts to boil, as opposed to a simmer, because I swear if it's not hot enough, the cheese will clump, like when it's bubbling, not boiling over, but a little more active than what most people define a simmer, I turn off the heat. 

You want to use a hand mixer or a hand blender whisk (which is what I used), and slowly add the cheese as you are mixing it. Don't cheat on this with a regular whisk. You want something powered by electricity. You will feel the sauce get thicker, sort of like the thickness of sweet milk at room temp, just enough to kind of coat the spoon. You don't want to overbeat or the sauce will be too thick later. You don't want to underbeat because then it will be too runny later. This is part 1 of the art part. You have no idea how thick you are making it as you make it.  

Then I add half the mixture to the eggs and beat it with the same beating device I just used. Dump it back in the pot, stir, and turn heat on. Then I stand there stirring it non stop until it comes to a boil again. Just like before. More active than a simmer. Less active than boiling water. Some bubbles form at the top. This is the part where if you cook too long, it will get curdly looking. If you don't cook long enough, it's too runny. 

The part where I usually mess up, as soon as you see those bubbles, you have to get it out of that pot and into something cool. It's not enough to just turn off the heat. You want to immediately move it over to a regular bowl and let it cool. If you just turn off the heat and walk to a cabinet to get a bowl, the time it takes to do that, it will start curdling. It's still good to eat that way. It's just not as pretty. And if you got a picky kid, they may decide the sauce is too dry. 

If it is too thick once it cools, you can add some milk or whipping cream and stir and stir and stir until desired consistency. 

Instead of salt and pepper, I season to taste with Garlic Salt. I did forget to do that this last time around.

OH, and I tagged Chicken in this. That's because I served the Alfredo over chicken and fettuccine garnished with sliced red pepper and some spinach. I just boiled the chicken. No seasoning or anything. I did freeze my chicken fat water for a later broth. 

How I make my Top Ramen (roll the Rrrr, and pronounce it Raw Men)

Just in case they delete it... I subscribe to Circle of Moms online. I get emails. They tell me when they do these recipe contests, and for whatever reason, I can't resist putting something. So this one was, 

As a mom, we know you've been faced with pulling a rabbit out of a hat when it comes to putting a creative and tasty meal on the table for your family. This month,the Cookbook challenges you to reach into your culinary bag of tricks and create a dish using 5 ingredients or less. 

Well, what DO I use to pull a recipe out of my hat? Top Ramen. I know. I know. Healthy shit huh? I also just heat up hotdogs sometimes, and I've been paying extra to get Nitrate Free ones, so there's at least that. Now in my defense, A, a lot of these moms do recipes that call for a box of cake mix. That's not homemade if it calls for a box of cake mix. and B, I did put homemade stuff ideas at the bottom. 

But in case I get disqualified, deleted, because Top Ramen did all the work... I'm copying and pasting here. The thing is I do prepare it differently, in a way I don't have to wait for it to cool before serving. We all know Top Ramen is cursed with not being able to cool in less than a half hour, even outside in a snow storm, and still at risk of hot spots to burn the mouth. 

LINK TO IT: http://www.circleofmoms.com/recipe/how-i-make-my-top-ramen-roll-rrr-pronounce-raw-men

• Y'all wanted to know what I pull out of the hat for picky eaters with 5 ingredients or less... It's cheap too. I always keep Ramen noodles handy. I actually have a little basket in my cabinet just for Top Ramen (it sounds so much classier to call it Top Ramen, and don't forget to roll the R). Now the way I make it, it tastes good enough for the kids, but it's not that good. It tastes rather awful. The important thing is I get rid of that "wait forever with whiny kids for it to cool" step. Look at bottom for alternative cheap soup ideas to pull out of a hat.

Ingredients

• 3 packs of Ramen Soup (one pack per child, in my case that's 3)
• Water

 
 
 
 
 

(Rated by 0 moms)

PREP TIME	4 Min	READY IN	8 Min
COOK TIME	4 Min	SERVINGS	3

MAIN INGREDIENT Pasta

MEAL/COURSE Lunch

TYPE OF DISH Soup and Stew

COOKING METHOD Microwave

CUISINE American

DIETARY NOTES Quick & Easy

Preparation

1. Grab big microwave safe bowl (I usually use Ziploc Storage containers, or some similar branded product)
2. Crush noodles in the Ramen packets. Try not to pop it open and make a noodly mess in the process. If you do, don't clean it barefoot. Stuff is like shards of glass and shrapnel just chilling on your floor waiting to slice and dice your foot in ways that make Legos jealous. And why this step? Because have you seen a kid choke on a long Ramen Noodle? It's the most disgusting thing you will ever see, watching them pull a noodle the size of a garden hose out of their throat right before they throw up while you are freaking out preparing to do the heimlich, and then they look at you and smile and continue eating like that didn't just happen. Plus, they can eat this with spoon or fork. Spoon is easier sometimes for younger kids.
3. Dump crushed noodles into the bowl. Set seasoning aside.
4. Fill bowl with water that covers about 1/4 inch over the noodles.
5. Microwave it for 3 to 5 minutes. Let it sit a minute swearing to the kids it's still cooking.
6. If they appear done, go to next step. If not, microwave another minute and check again and repeat this step.
7. Take one of those little hand held strainer things, preferably a plastic one as opposed to the metal mesh ones. Dump all the water out with a quarter to half the noodles in your strainer thing. Leave a little water if your kid likes broth. My kids don't.
8. Run cold water over those noodles until they are cold.
9. Dump noodles back in main bowl. Mix. Check noodle temp. If too hot still, take a portion of noodles back in strainer thing and run more cold water over it. Don't over do it or it's too cold. Embrace your inner Goldielocks. Find Just Right.
10. Open seasoning packets and add to bowl. Mix well. Mix some more.
11. Take a bite to make sure it's not poisonous.
12. Serve in little disposable bowls of some sort for the kids (paper or styrofoam whatever) with disposable plasticware.
13. Sprinkle a little parsley over it because it's Top Ramen and deserves garnished. I'm kidding. Don't do this step.
14. Alternative recipes:
15. You can pretty much do the same thing with any noodles (or 5 minute rice), water, and chicken or beef bouillon cubes. You can also add frozen or canned veggies to it if it sounds like it goes good with the cube flavoring you got.
16. In addition, every time I boil chicken, I save the broth, Sometimes I freeze it. I usually prepare it by adding it to some egg noodles and a bag of frozen mixed veggies. Season to taste, depending on the veggies I have. Sometimes I'll add a packet of the Ramen seasoning to it (I don't know how I have extras of those floating around). Other times, I add Adobo, cilantro, Sazon, corn on the cob, tomatoes, and beans to spaghetti noodles and broth. Whatever I got. I just mix it up where it tastes good enough to eat.
17. Note: These things are awesome. I get them at my walmart, frozen foods section... https://www.facebook.com/pop.and.cook

Lazy Chicken Casserole

I'm always on the search for a good lazy dinner, those dinners that require the least amount of effort and time but worth eating. I do a lot with chicken, and I love casseroles. You throw a bunch of crap into the 9x13 pan last second and stick it in the oven, and you can throw in anything that sounds good together based on what you got. You can even use raw minute rice with enough liquids and it cooks in the oven.

One chicken casserole that's top awesomelicious in my house is where I throw in cooked chicken chunks, a bag of frozen broccoli and cauliflower, some fresh broccoli, a couple cans of broccoli cheese soup, a can to can and a half of heavy whipping cream (instead of the water or milk as recommended on the can for soup), and then top it off with shredded cheddar and bread crumbs and bake until bubbly and cheese is melted.  We even got my friend's kid who HATES broccoli, HATES IT with a fiery passion, to eat some of it minus the broccoli chunks and love it.  The whipping cream is what makes the sauce awesomesauce. 

The biggest pain in the arsenal with this casserole is cooking the chicken first because it takes time, and then I have to pay attention to what I'm doing (rolling eyes to the left wondering if that's really as bad as it sounds)...   I've tried some short cuts like canned chicken, and that tastes a lot like tuna. Wasn't the same. Nope, not at all.

I found an all new low of laziness recently. Instead of buying raw chicken breast like I do and boil it, I drove through Wendy's and paid $4.19 per grilled chicken breast patty, and they even chopped it up for me. I'm such a June Cleaver because I learned from the lady at the drive thru window that Tyson makes frozen bags of cooked chicken breasts, already chopped up. It took me a minute to find it at my Walmart, and she's right. It was like seven bucks for the bag, but still, faster and easier than raw chicken. I've come to find out many women already know about this Tyson chicken, so I feel a little inferior.

What have I learned from this? Next time, I'm asking my neighbor to bring home some grilled chicken from Wendy's because he works at Wendy's and gets employee discounts.  Now that's lazy on the cheap and exactly what I'm looking for, and it comes with free delivery.