Fetta-chooney

I love grilling.  When it comes to grilling I maintain a certain amount of consistency.  However, today I felt a bit ambitious.  I bought a different kind of charcoal and to top it off I actually bought a bag of hickory wood chips.  I definitely regret the change in charcoal brand.  The wood chips, I am not so sure about, the charcoal definitely let me down.  I had a pretty aggressive flame as you may be able to see.   Let's just say the grill beat me this go 'round.  It's okay, I was quite successful in another area.  

I tried a new recipe today! I made penne with a white cream sauce.  I found my inspiration from allrecipes.com.  It really is super easy! Here are the basics:  1/2 cup of butter, 1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, 2 teaspoons of garlic powder, 2 cups of milk, 6 ounces of grated parmesan cheese, and 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper.  So just melt the butter really quick on medium and add in your garlic.  Afterward, drop in your cream cheese, use a whisker so you can get it smoothed down.  As your sauce cools it will thicken so be sure to stir in your milk occasionally then top off with pepper and parmesan cheese. ( I actually forgot completely about throwing in my parmesan cheese!   It still tasted great! Instead of the garlic powder I chose to mince fresh garlic and add that to my butter. I also sprinkled in some parsley flakes.) So just toss this sauce with your freshly cooked pasta! I can't wait for leftovers to eat at lunch tomorrow!

Too bad the pasta completely out shined my grilling skills.  I think next week I will crack open dearest Costco recipe book for a fantastic salad. I have to commit to healthier eating and just saying "Nay" to the golden arches.   

The night has come to a fantastic close as I smell the fragrance of vanilla shortbread sweeping through the entire apartment.  It's the perfect start to the work week.  I wish you all a wonderful Monday and a productive week at work, school, or wherever your location may be.