Feeding College Aged Boys....

I grew up in Loudoun County which is a beautiful area in Northern VA and attended college 2 hours south in Bridgewater, VA. I choose to attend a smaller school, but a large group from our area choose to attend the larger school of VA Tech, including some of my close friends. Now VA Tech is 4 hours south of Loudoun County, placing my home in Bridgewater smack dab in the middle, meaning it was a constant rest stop for friends heading back to school.

While I love having company, college aged boys stopping by for 2 hour periods just to eat my food was not an ideal situation. Although I was at first naive enough to believe they would be happy with just my company (who was I kidding) I soon realized that if I did not plan better for those little pit stops my cabinets would be empty the rest of the week. So from there on out I made it a rule that when I knew they were coming I would have a meal prepared when they got there that was light on the wallet and heavy on the stomachs.

See, if you dont have anything prepared, college age boys will ravage through your cabinets as if they will never eat again. With exception of Kent and Kyle, they never asked what they could have, just assumed nothing was off limits. As a poor college kid, their visits would end up putting my wine fund in critical condition. By making something heavy, it fills them up and keeps them out of the kitchen. This made entertaining much easier as well, I was able to focus on my guests having a good time and enjoying the time I got to spend with them. My go to meal was fettuccine alfredo, I would throw some chicken in their if it was a good friend. This was a great meal to do on a budget and got them full and on their way.

So today's recipe is for Garlic Alfredo, it is an easy homemade recipe that can be paired with a variety of pastas (fettuccine, bowtie, angel hair) and is great accompanied by chicken breasts or shrimp.

What you need
* 1/2 cup butter
* 2 tablespoons cream cheese
* 1 pint heavy cream
* 1-2 teaspoon garlic powder (start with 1 and taste)
* Sprinkle of salt and pepper (to taste)
* 3/4 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese(fresh is best but Ive used the containers
of Parm. before and it turned out well; I typically use a blend of Parmesan and
Romano)

-- In a medium to large saucepan melt the butter over medium heat.
-- 2 Add the cream cheese and whisk to smooth and melted.
-- 3 Whisk in the heavy cream.
-- 4 Season with the garlic powder, salt and pepper.
-- 5 Bring to a good simmer and whisk frequently until sauce thickens, around 25 minutes
-- 6 Remove from heat and stir in cheese. (If you want the sauce to thicken more allow it to sit)
-- 7 Taste and adjust seasoning's.

Enjoy!