Zucchini Fettuccine Alfredo

Jerry's zucchini is coming in!!  For those of you who don't know who I'm talking about, my neighbor Jerry always provides us with some amazing produce every summer.  Last week he brought us a bagful of fresh zucchini, so I quickly went to work making some dark chocolate zucchini brownies and zucchini fettuccine Alfredo.  It was a yummy night!

First batch of the summer!

If I weren't serving kids, I probably would have omitted the fettuccine and just made zucchini Alfredo.  But I knew that wouldn't go over well with the little ones.  The goal was to have fettuccine noodles and zucchini noodles, but I got distracted while cooking and ended up with zucchini pieces mixed in with noodles.  It really doesn't take long to cook the zucchini.

For the sauce, I started with a recipe I got from Christina, one of the ladies at church.  She's the source of the original Caesar salad dressing that I altered to make my own.  I also altered the Alfredo recipe to accommodate my family of six.

You will notice that most of the sauce ingredients are high in fat.  This is definitely one of those special-occasion recipes.  And of course, you could always add chicken for some protein.

Zucchini Fettuccine Alfredo
1 lb. fettuccine noodles
1 stick butter
2 c. heavy cream
3/4 tsp. salt
1 lb. zucchini, cut into noodles
1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil fettuccine according to package directions.  Meanwhile, melt butter in large skillet (large enough for sauce and pasta) over medium to medium-high heat.  Add cream and 3/4 tsp. salt.  Bring to simmer and continue to cook about five minutes, being careful not to let it boil.

With this much butter, you know it's going to be good!

And then comes the cream!

During the last one to two minutes that the pasta is cooking, add zucchini.  Drain fettuccine and zucchini ; toss into skillet with sauce.

Add Parmesan and salt and pepper to taste; toss.  Serve immediately.

With a side of crusty bread, of course.