Pasta Half and Half

When I was younger, and growing up in the greater Houston area, there was a lovely Italian restaurant that my family would frequent and my absolute most favorite dish was "Spaghetti Half and Half". Every now and then I get a craving for this dish, and, like so many other meals I get cravings for, I do my best to just make it myself! Now, you can always just make a tomato cream sauce, it's practically the same thing, but isn't this just so pretty? And, I love that you can take bites of each individual flavor and mix them up at your pleasure. Oh, and as you can see, I didn't use spaghetti pasta this time around, I was just in the mood for something else, so feel free to use any pasta that you would like! A big plus to making this meal is that it takes less than 30 minutes so it's perfect for those crazy busy nights! You just need to do a little multi-tasking, I like to begin on the tomato sauce first and once I have that simmering I start on the Alfredo sauce, and while both sauces simmer I cook the pasta. I did use ground beef in this marinara recipe but feel free to leave it out, this dish is wonderful without meat or you could add chicken, it's all up to you!

Marinara Sauce:

1 lb ground meat (optional) - brown and drain the meat first

15oz can tomato sauce

*14.5oz can Italian stewed or diced tomatoes

1-2 tsp garlic powder

1-2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 Tbsp dried parsley

1 Tbsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried thyme

2 tsp dried basil

1. In a medium saucepan combine all of your ingredients and bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer. Taste occasionally and adjust seasonings to your liking.

*I blend the tomatoes in a food processor first so there aren't huge chunks of tomato in my sauce.

Alfredo Sauce:

4 Tbsp butter

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

1/4 C flour

2 C heavy cream

1-2 C milk

1 C grated parmesan

1 Tbsp dried parsley

Salt

Pepper

1. In a medium pot melt the butter on medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant and beginning to brown (1-2 minutes), add the flour and whisk in. Slowly whisk in the cream, be sure that it's smooth and there aren't any lumps of flour.

2. Add 1 cup of the milk, parsley, salt, and pepper. Continue to stir and raise the heat to medium-high, bring to a low boil, whisking continually. Lower heat to medium-low, add the cheese, and if the sauce begins to get too thick add the remaining milk a little at a time. Let the sauce simmer until thickened (about 10 minutes)

***Now, cook your pasta as directed, drain, and serve by spooning each sauce over half then top it off with a little grated parmesan to bring it all together!***