CrockPot Seafood Alfredo Recipe

Day 69.

While I'm typing this up, I can overhear my six-year-old telling my three-year-old, "you have to try this. It tastes like restaurant food."

I think that is the highest honor ever bestowed upon me.

I have so many people to thank, where should I begin...?

Actually, I got this idea from my friend Svetlana while watching a fifth grade championship basketball game. Thanks, Svetlana!

The Ingredients.

--1 stick butter

--2 cups whole milk

--1 t herbs de provence

--3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

--3/4 cup shredded parmesan

--3 smashed and chopped garlic cloves

--1/2 t kosher salt

--1/4 t black pepper

--2 T flour (not pictured)

--1 bag Trader Joe's Seafood Medley (or 1 lb frozen, cooked shrimp or chicken. chicken would work.)

The Directions.

--put milk in crockpot.

--stir in the flour ( I used Pamela's Baking Mix)

--add the herbs and garlic, stir again

--put in the stick of butter and all the cheese

--cook on low for 4-6 hours

The butter will separate from the milk and cheese. It will look weird. You will be tempted to email me hysterical because it won't look pretty.

You can. I'll talk you through it.

Take some deep breaths. Drink some wine. It will be okay.

Stir the mixture thoroughly and add your seafood blend or frozen shrimp. If you're doing frozen chicken, you're out of luck. You really should have put that in a long time ago. You could stir in cooked chicken, though.

* THIS HAS BEEN UPDATED 3/24/08 DOWN BELOW *

Boil pasta according to package directions.

When done, toss the alfredo sauce with your hot, drained pasta.

I wish I had made it to Whole Foods for the Tinkyada brown rice fettuccine, but I didn't. We had it over Trader Joe's brown rice spaghetti.

The Verdict.

It tasted spectacular.

It did look a bit weird though.

There were some white specks where the flour bunched together in spots. It was not Food Network worthy, but it was definitely worthy for our family.

And for our friend, Dave, who came over for dinner.

* UPDATED 3/24/08 (which happens to be my mom and dad's 35 year anniversary)... *

ok. I've now learned that in order to make a proper roux, you need to melt the butter first, then slowly add your flour. So, in a small microwaveable bowl, melt your butter, and slowly wisk in the flour. It will mix into a thin paste-like consistency, and then won't be so lumpy in your dish.

At the very end, when you stir in your frozen seafood, you really only need to cook it on high for another 20-30 minutes. All you want is for the seafood to warm up and not have icicles all over it. It's already cooked, so you won't get a freaky disease.