If you have been following this blog for some time you know that the dinner before Scott’s start day always consists of pasta and chicken. Lots of carbs and lots of protein! I always run by a few dinner ideas for him (he likes options) and this time he ran one by me! We were on our way home from the game and in our 45 minute car ride home when he told me about how one of his teammates brought in a pasta with half Alfredo and half marinara sauce into the field one day. Apparently this guy shared with Scott and  Scott raved about how it was soooooo good and if I could make that when we got home, then that’s what he wants for dinner. Being the magician that I am, I of course winged this dish using ingredients I had on hand and fingers crossed it ended up a hit! You know this dish is good when Scott says we should save the leftovers!

Here’s what you’ll need for this pasta sauce love story:

*This is pretty much my Alfredo recipe from another blog post found here but I cut the portion size down and used what I had on hand

2 large garlic cloves, minced

4 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup store bought marinara sauce (I used Classico Tomato & Basil sauce because that’s what was in my pantry and since this dish was conceived during the car ride home I wasn’t about to go to the grocery store and buy anything at midnight)

Salt and pepper to taste

A couple pinches of crushed red pepper flakes

1 box of penne pasta, cooked al dente

1 pound of chicken breast, butterflied and grilled to juicy perfection (optional)

Start with boiling your pasta in salted water until cooked al dente.

In a medium stock pot or large skillet, melt butter and sauté garlic until softened.

Add flour and stir making a roux cooking off the flour for about 2-3 minutes until golden but not brown!

Slowly add the heavy cream and milk whisking everything together. Reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened. I test it on the back of a spoon. I dip the spoon in and check to see if the sauce immediately runs off. If it does, let it keep going until it has thickened. If you’re good to go, then stir in the cheese until it is melted. Once melted, add marinara sauce and let simmer until your pasta is ready to go.

Drain your pasta and immediately toss with sauce. Add a couple pinches of crushed red pepper flakes and stir together. You can served this with grilled chicken breast if you’d like or you can opt out of it and keep it vegetarian.

Masarap!