It's no secret that my kids LOVE Olive Garden's fettucine Alfredo.  They beg to go there quite regularly.  Since, as a family of 5, we could easily drop $40 there for one lunch or dinner outing, we try and only go every once in a while.  This past Christmas was great because my mom actually gave the hubs and I a few different gift cards for restaurants.  And OG was one of them! Score! The kids really did enjoy that.

Awhile back, that same mom of mine, picked up this book for me (for just a buck!) when she was visiting one day and happened to take the kids to Half Price Books.

I began to thumb through it to see if anything caught my interest.  And then I noticed my 8 year-old had dog-eared page 191 – the recipe for Olive Garden Alfredo Pasta.

He went on and on about how he wanted me to make that darn pasta and proceeded to remind me about it every few days.  Then, one day I was struggling for ideas on what to include for my weekly menu plan and I decided to open the book up and see if I could give it a whirl.  Surprisingly, I had just about everything it called for already stocked in my pantry or fridge, so I decided to add it for the week and see how it goes.  About the only change I made was that I added chicken since we are definitely meat-eaters and I just can't serve the hubs (or myself!) something without some kind of protein meat.  Plus I like that it adds more bulk to the dish and we definitely need that in our house too since the hubs and my 3 boys are pretty good eaters.

First, gather these guys up — fettucine or linguine, stick of butter, pint of heavy whipping cream, fresh shredded parmesan  cheese, coarse salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.

I then took a few boneless skinless chicken breasts and seasoned them with salt and pepper and cut them into chunks.  Then I sauteed them in a bit of olive oil.

While the chicken was finishing up, next it's time to melt the butter of medium heat.  Once that's done, add the cream, garlic powder, and pepper.  Simmer for 10-15 minutes so that it thickens up a bit.

While this is all happening, bring some water to boil and add your pasta.  Once the Alfredo sauce has reached your desired consistency, you can then begin stirring in the Parm cheese.  Mmmm . . . cheese!

I don't have a set amount that I add, I just do however much I feel like it.  It usually ends up being about 4 to 6 ounces and then I save the remaining cheese for sprinkling on everyone's individual serving on their plate.

Finally, when the pasta is cooked just right, drain it and return it to the pot.  Then I add the chicken from the skillet I cooked it in earlier and pour the Alfredo sauce over it and mix thoroughly.  Then sprinkle with dried parsley, an extra serving of Parmesan cheese and dinner is DONE!

I hope you enjoy this knock-off Olive Garden recipe.  I know my kids do and although I am more of a red sauce pasta girl, I must say that my kids and I think I certainly do give Olive Garden a run for their money when I make this dish for dinner!