Cheese and Butter Fettuccini

It's Meatless Monday!!!  Yea!!  

I do recognize that there are a lot of my readers who still have yet to embrace the idea of meatless Monday. I for one, love the idea of eating a meal without meat but I sympathize with the carnivores, because I live with a girl who absolutely does not see the point in eating a meatless meal.  Even though I look forward to our meatless meals, and I feel completely full and satisfied when it's over, I still look across the table to see the disappointment on the face of my meat-loving girl.

I do try and make our meatless meals interesting and exciting to try and win her over and the best way to get her to ignore the fact that there is no meat on the table is to offer carbohydrates.  

Tonight I cooked a delicious fish dinner for Ben and I and the Cheese and Butter Fettuccini side dish became a main dish for my meat-loving girl.  Even though there was no meat on the table tonight, this meal was a big hit with ALL of us.  

This fettuccini is simple - just as side dishes should be.  It's quick and easy to put together and it's delicious - as a side OR as a main course.  

Cheese and Butter Fettuccini
1/2 pound fettuccini
1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup pasta water
2 1/2 Tablespoons butter
​1/4 teaspoon salt

Cook pasta to al dente.  Reserve 1/2 cup water before draining pasta.  

Return pasta to pot.  Add cheese, butter, reserved pasta water and salt to pan.  

Toss vigorously.  Cover and let sit for 1 minute.  Toss again and serve.

I served mine with a Cesar salad and a ciabatta roll.   

There you have it - proof that you don't have to cook tofu or even fish to enjoy a delicious meatless meal.  This Cheese and Butter Fettuccini is exactly what my girl needed to fuel her for a night of soccer practice.  (Maybe someday my carnivore will actually look forward to Meatless Monday.  A girl can dream, right?) 

Ciao!

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