Dinner: Creamy Pasta with Spinach & Asparagus

I had been craving some creamy pasta since yesterday, and when I went to Chilli's last night for their Cajun Pasta with chicken I was terribly disappointed to realize they'd drastically cut the potion size while price stayed the same! I mean it had been a while since I ordered it, but man! The pasta was also very close to being overcooked- definitely not even close to al dente. But I ate it, because I was hungry and and well, not much is open for dinner at 9pm on a Monday in Sarasota.

So.. Tonight when the old "what's for dinner" question popped up I decided to make up for my mooshy, under portioned pasta last night by making my own homemade Alfredo sauce (utilizing whatever other ingredients I found in the fridge).
The result: Cheesy Alfredo Paparadelle with Spinach and Asparagus.

I first started by making a roux using equal parts butter and flour, while whisking, I then added warmed milk until I got the perfect creamy consistency (about 1.5 cups).

Next, I seasoned the creamy milk with garlic and onion powder, dried basil and some Tuscan seasoning blend. Then, I added about 1 cup o spinach and stirred till wilted. With that on warm, I brought a separate pot of salted water to a boil and tossed in about a half cup of diced asparagus. The asparagus boiled for about 2 minutes before I added my dried paparadelle and cooked another 5 mins. After draining the pasta, I added about a cup of cheese (half grated Parmesan, half shredded cheddar) and stirred till melted. Next, I combined the drained pasta and asparagus with the cheese-spinach sauce, topped with extra parmesan and black pepper & voila! Delicious!

A similar recipe to this one (and the original inspiration for all cheesy pastas hereafter) can be found by clicking here or going to the recipes tab above.