Fettuccine with Tomato Cream Sauce & Salad with Creamy Italian Dressing

Another great meal by cooking from my Pioneer Woman cookbook! I mean this cookbook is just so fun because of the photos she gives, the vibrant colors/design and her sense of humor - I love it! So it was a Monday and we went meatless. I pretty much followed the recipe, well pretty much - Ha!

I threw a bunch of "things" together to make an Italian salad. I had bread cubes in the freezer to use for croutons (these take about 5 minutes to thaw on the counter), kalamata olives, pepperoncini's, green beans (from the garden, I might add), sliced red onion, lettuce and a quick recipe for Creamy Italian dressing. I love it when I can use up some things in the fridge and put together something really tasty with them. I served the salad with the dreamy pasta and here we go....

Fettuccine with Tomato Cream Sauce
6-8 servings

ingredients
• 16 oz fettuccine
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 onions, finely diced
• 5 cloves garlic, shaved
• 32 oz marinara sauce (I used classico)
• Kosher salt & freshly cracked black pepper
• Dash of sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• handful of chopped fresh basil

directions
1. Bring a large pot of salted water up to a boil and cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid before you drain.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil and butter in a large skillet, then add the onions and garlic. I use a ribbon grater to grate the garlic right over the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes so the onions are translucent in color. Pour in the tomato sauce (carefully!) and season with salt, pepper and some sugar. Let simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the (room temperature) heavy cream and stir until well combined. Keep pan over low heat and add the grated Parmesan, stirring.

4. Drain the pasta and add to the pot with the sauce. Using tongs gently toss until the noodles are well coated. If sauce is too thick, add some of the pasta cooking water to loosen up.

5. When serving top the pasta with the fresh basil and some additional Parmesan.

If you wanted to add meat to this dish I imagine grilled chicken or shrimp would go really well. So I am trying something new - since this made so much and I already had lunches planned this week, I put the leftover in a gallon ziploc, laying flat put in the freezer. I hope it holds up and tastes just as delicious when we got to make it for dinner down the road.

I have mentioned this before, but I love making homemade dressing - it just tastes so fresh and just better for you - you control what goes in it! This one is from the little booklet "50 Salad Dressings" that came with a FN magazine. This little guy stays in one of my drawers in the kitchen so I have it handy.

Creamy Italian Dressing
makes about 1 cup

ingredients
• 1/4 cup olive oil mayo with black pepper
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp greek yogurt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp dried italian seasoning
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, minced

directions
Blend up all ingredients except parsley. Remove from blender and pour into a small bowl/jar. Add the chopped parsley and stir to combine.

Serve as a dip or on top of you favorite combo of veggies and/or salad.

Enjoy!