Well my trip to the Grocery Outlet proved to be a bit frustrating this week. As they say timing is everything and I guess my timing was off because I chose the day that all of the employees where crowding every isle to stock shelves. The shelves I could get to where rather bare so I suppose it was kind of necessary. I actually left after grabbing just enough to do this week’s post. That means I will no doubt have to make another trip at some point this week. Good news is that I was still able to come up with another tasty meal with what was available.
One of my favorite parts of shopping at GO is the cheese selection. I love cheese! And not just the nice melty cheese that is so typical of Italian and Mexican food – I love stinky cheeses too! (This is again probably another result of growing up overseas). And GO has quite the variety of cheeses! Hard cheeses, soft cheeses, aged cheeses and fresh cheese. Goat, cow and sheep’s milk cheeses. And the recipe ideas are endless.
But with the annoyance of having to ask the shelf stocker to “Excuse me” a couple hundred times I ended up just grabbing the little tub of pre-grated parmesan. Along with that I tossed a carton of cream, a package of fettuccini and a bunch of broccoli into the cart and then hustled out the door. So if you haven’t already figured it out this week GO Gourmet meal is Fettuccini Alfredo with fresh broccoli.
So here’s the ingredient list
· 1/4 of a package of fettuccini (it was a big package!) at $0.79 a pkg = $0.20
· 2/3 cup of cream at $1.99 a carton = $0.35
· Half a crown of broccoli chopped in to large pieces is about $0.32
· 3-4 large cloves of garlic chopped very fine works out to about $0.05
· 1/2 Tablespoon of butter is about $0.05
· 1/3 cup of milk which works out to about $.015
· And 1 cup of parmesan which is $1.99 and tub = $1.00
To begin you’ll heat a large pot of water to cook the fettuccini. While you’re waiting for it to boil go ahead and melt the butter in a high sided sauté pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté several minutes, or until fragrant.
Next you’ll add the cream.
Give the cream a minute to heat up and then add in the parmesan. You’ll want to use a whisk and keep stirring until the cheese is melted and well incorporated. This is also about the time you’ll want to add the fettuccini to the boiling water.
Season your Alfredo sauce with a little salt and pepper and allow the sauce to simmer for several minutes. It should be getting a little thicker at this point. You can use the milk to thin it a bit if it gets to thick. Now you can turn the heat to low and let it rest while you finish the pasta and prep the broccoli. Remember to stir the sauce every couple of minutes.
Time for the broccoli. Now I’m a corner cutter when it comes to cooking so I use the same pot of water that the pasta is cooking in to blanch my broccoli. Using a metal sieve I dunk the chopped up broccoli in the boiling water until it turns a nice bright green. I like mine pretty crunchy so you may want to cook yours a little longer.
Now lift the sieve out of the water and set it over a bowl to drain. In the mean time, using a pasta utensil, scoop your done fettuccini out of the pot, give it a shake to get rid of the excess water and then toss it in to the sauce.
Give the sauce and pasta a good stir and then add the broccoli and serve! There should be enough for two generous portions.
This is one of my favorite meals to make. So simple and soooo much better than any jarred Alfredo! So how does it all break down? Well including a $0.50 allowance for tax and seasoning it comes to a total of $2.62. That’s two portions so the per person cost is only $1.31!
Another delicious deal! Hope you enjoy!
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