Rotini Alfredo Primavera

This is actually more of a "fauxfredo" than Alfredo sauce. "Real" Alfredo is made with just parmesan and butter, while this has lots more goodies in it.

I was reading a recipe for "skinny" Alfredo sauce on Pinterest and I started adding things in my head. What I ended up with was some kind of rotini alfredo + pasta primavera something-or-other.

In the end, whatever the heck this dish is, it was delicious.

Let's get down to it:

Prep time: ~5 minutes

Cook time: 25-30 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

3/4 of a 12 oz box of tricolor rotini pasta
3/4-1 medium onion
1 garlic clove
1/2 stick or 1/4 cup butter
1 cup vegetable bouillon
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
~2 tablespoons mozzarella cheese
~2 tablespoons smoked gouda
1 - 1-1/2 cups soy milk
1 cup frozen or fresh green beans
1/2 cup frozen or fresh broccoli
1/2 cup frozen or fresh peas (shelled)

Directions:

1. Start with your pasta.

Love that color!

Follow the directions on the box to boil as directed.

2. Chop your onion.

And your garlic.

3. In a large skillet or saute pan, melt the butter.

Add onions and garlic and cook until tender, about 3-5 minutes.

About this time, the pasta should be done. Drain that and set aside in a large bowl--or whatever bowl you'll be serving this out of, if you're like me.

Add your vegetable bouillon to the onions.

Let that simmer for several minutes.

While that's going on, get out your green beans. You can chop them if you wish, but I left them as-is.

The broccoli, too.

If you have a steamer, throw those in. We have a steamer set that came in the pan set we got as a wedding gift (Thanks, Bili!), but I totally forgot it was a steamer literally until the moment that I made this dish.

I was very excited to rediscover it.

If you don't have a steamer, try a microwaveable bowl with a lid or small plate covering it. Works almost as well!

Cover and steam until the veggies are warm and getting tender. I like a little crunch, so I didn't fully cook them.

Repeat this process with the peas.

Throw those all in with the pasta.

And mix!

Back to the stove!

Add your parmesan cheese to your onion mix.

Grate, cube or slice the mozzarella and gouda.

Add those to the aspiring sauce.

The cheeses will be a little resistant to fully melt and blend in at first, but eventually they'll figure it out.

Finally, add in your soy milk and mix completely.

I let this simmer, uncovered, until it thickened up a bit, about 5 more minutes.

Note, this is a very salty mixture right now with the various cheeses that are in here--that's okay! Once we introduce the pasta and veggies in, the sauce will chill out a bit and not be overpowering.

Speaking of--pour this over your bowl of pasta and veggies.

Mix well so that everything is evenly coated in the sauce.

Mmm.

Hubby's reaction to his first bite of this: "My taste buds just exploded!" And he looked over at me with a little grin and added, "And you can quote me on that."

The man knows me so well.

This tastes great as leftovers, too, FYI--just add a tiny bit of water while heating it up the next day to help the sauce liven back up. When pasta sits in sauce overnight, it likes to soak everything up.

Enjoy!

Kitchen credits:

-I referenced Ree Drummond's Alfredo sauce and this "skinny" Alfredo recipe to create my own.