A Sucker for Pictures

So it was the ad's fault. I wasn't really interested in making anything for dinner tonight - long day, wasn't into cooking, etc. Then I saw an ad for the Olive Garden with this great looking pasta with a garlic butter sauce on it and my stomach said it simply wouldn't tolerate anything else. I set to work when I got home to give it a shot and it wasn't too shabby. I'll try my best to recreate the recipe here since I have a tendency to toss things in. :) Served it up with some grilled tilapia fillets and peas. Mmmmm.

Creamy Garlic Sauce
1 T minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
2 t parsley
2 T flour
1 cup milk
Lemon juice (squeezed from 1/4 lemon)
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
3 T parmesan cheese

1. Saute garlic and parsley in the olive oil for 2 minutes.
2. Add flour and stir until it becomes smooth and bubbly, about 1 minute.
3. Add milk and stir constantly, over medium heat until sauce thickens.
4. Squeeze in juice from 1/4 lemon (about 1 T), salt, pepper , and parmesan.
5. Combine with pasta and serve.

I learned a trick recently about pasta sauce. If you mix in a 1/4 cup or so of the starchy water that the pasta was cooked in, the sauce will stick to your pasta rather than just run off onto the plate. It really works!

I also baked up some carrot cupcakes last night and frosted them with the required cream cheese frosting. Nothing from scratch here folks - consult the baking aisle at your local supermarket!