Copycat Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce

Here's the link to the pasta we made while in California.  It's one of my favorites!  The only thing I change is that I use regular cream instead of heavy cream- makes it a lot healthier ;)

http://momscrazycooking.blogspot.com/2012/09/olive-garden-alfredo-sauce-this-weeks.html

Orecchiette with Roasted Broccoli and Walnuts

This recipe is very straightforward and is ready in less than a half hour! It's from Real Simple and can be found here.

Ingredients:

12 ounces orecchiette or some other short pasta (3 cups)
1 bunch broccoli (1 ½ pounds), cut into small florets
½ cup walnuts
¼ cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
kosher salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup grated Parmesan (1 ounce)

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve ¾ cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta, and return it to the pot.

Meanwhile, on a rimmed baking sheet, toss the broccoli, walnuts, oil, garlic, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Roast, tossing once, until the broccoli is tender, 18 to 20 minutes.

Toss the pasta with the broccoli mixture, butter, and ½ cup of the reserved pasta water. (Add more water if the pasta seems dry.)

Sprinkle with the Parmesan before serving.

A few notes: I mistakenly put the butter in the oven with the broccoli mixture the first time I made this (didn’t read the directions quite right) and it still turned out great. Also, I did not use the reserved “cooking water” from the pasta and it was perfect, not too dry.

Tasty and simple!