Ooh, That Alfredo

I am an elementary educator.

I made it home completely drained. Depleted to the point of sheer exhaustion, I walked in the door and kicked my shoes across the room. The torture device called my bra was taken off next. Hindered by it's restricted straps and in pain from the much needed underwire, I took it off immediately without taking off my shirt. It was flung successfully onto a door knob. The weight of gravity never felt so good as my breast went back to where nature intended them to be. I unbuttoned my pants and ran my hands along the ripples on my stomach created by a waist band just a little too tight from Marketside decadent chocolate chunk cookies and Little Debbie strawberry shortcake rolls ice cream.

I was hungry. Very hungry. Unfortunately, I did not have the energy to cook anything. There were no snacks stashed in my room. I did the norm which was to lay in my bed, pick up the remote and turn on the TV. I was sure Netflix, Hulu or Prime Video would have something available to aide and abed my desire to escape reality. As I lay my head back to enjoy Angela Lansbury aka J.B. Fletcher, I heard the door open. It was my daughter. We exchanged a brief greeting and I went back to TV zombie land.

About 30 minutes passed and something broke my concentration from a commitment to binge watch all seasons and episodes of Murder, She Wrote. Garlic. The aroma of garlic and salted, sweet cream butter. Moments later my daughter walked in with a plate of garlic basil Alfredo fettucine. The steam was still rising from the bowl and she had topped it with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Food makes me happy, especially when I don’t have to cook it. With a sigh of gratitude and relief I took my first bite.

"Iyana, thank you so much!" I melted into the peace that lay in savory pasta presented to me when I was too exhausted to feed myself.

Recipe

1 handful of fettucine pasta, broke in halves

1 15 oz. jar Bertolli garlic alfredo pasta sauce

½ 15 oz. jar of any flavored alfredo sauce-whatever is to your liking

1-2 tbsp. basil pesto (any brand)

3-4 tbsp. salted, sweet cream butter

2 tbsp. minced garlic

1 tbsp. virgin olive oil-use the real stuff (in a glass jar, not plastic)

Any grated cheese to garnish

Salt, pepper and garlic seasoning to taste

Prepare the pasta by boiling for roughly 6-7 minutes. Drain, place back into original dish (off of heat) and add 1 tbsp. olive oil and toss into pasta. It keeps it moist, flavors it and prevents sticking.

Bring pasta sauce, basil pesto, butter, minced garlic, and additional seasonings to your liking and bring to a soft boil for approximately 10 minutes to allow flavors to fuse. Add pre-cooked fettucine slowly until you have your desired balance of pasta to sauce. Continue on simmer for 5-10 minutes. Make sure to serve as hot as you can stand and garnish with shredded cheese of choice, which is parmesan for our home.

Enjoy!

Feel free to add ingredients like broccoli, chicken, clams, etc. to make an even heartier dish. You will have to increase the amount of alfredo sauce.

I believe that educators, in the United States, have the most challenging careers. Devolving changes in culture, moral values and parenting have led to unsafe classrooms and defiant students with no accountability. Educational decisions being made by politicians have impacted the educational community with disastrous consequences. Experienced teachers are leaving the field in droves while new “teachers”, most barely trained and many uncertified are left, unsupported on the front lines. More than anything we need support. We need to feel safe. We need to feel valued. And sometimes we need more than an apple. We need a plate of garlic basil alfredo fettucine.