Forbidden Roses: Chicken and Sausage Carbonara

My favorite dish to order at Olive Garden is the Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara. SO good, but so expensive. After finding a good copycat recipe for Olive Garden's dish, I made my own changes, and it came out great. Being a budgeting college student, I switched up some of the ingredients for things I already had on hand or less expensive alternatives. It tasted just as great as when I used the real ingredients, and my roommate absolutely loved it!

Serves 6

What You Need:

1/2 box pasta (spaghetti, linguine, etc.)

1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2/3 cup hot water
3/4 tablespoon italian seasoning
3/4 tablespoon garlic powder
2 large boneless chicken breasts
4 small garlic cloves
1/2 cup 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) butter
4 strips of thick bacon
2 italian sausages
2-4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups milk
2 1/4 tablespoons romano cheese, grated
2 1/4 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
1 1/3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup panko
1 1/8 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/8 tablespoons butter, melted

What To Do (And What I Actually Used):

1. Boil your pasta according to the directions on the package! I used whole grain spaghetti, but you can use any kind you well please.

2. Alright, here's where my substitutions come into play. I used a pack of pre-cooked fried chicken, because, quite frankly, it's cheaper. Normally I would have used a rotisserie chicken, but the fried chicken happened to be on sale this week. Both are good less expensive alternatives. Whether you choose these options, or decide to cook up raw chicken breasts, cut up your chicken into small pieces. make sure there are NO bones.

3. Whisk hot water, olive oil, italian seasoning, and garlic powder together. Put your chicken into his mixture and allow to marinade in the refrigerator while you finish up the rest of your recipe. It may sound a bit silly to put cooked chicken into a marinade, but it really does change the flavor, cooked or raw.

4. Chop up your bacon strips into little pieces and mince garlic cloves.

5. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet.

6. Add bacon and garlic to the butter on medium heat. Be careful not to burn the butter.

7. Meanwhile, cook up sausages. Slice and cut disks in half.

8. Once the bacon is mostly cooked. Add the sausage to the mixture and allow to continue cooking for a few more minutes, making sure bacon and sausages are completely cooked through.

9. Melt 1/2 cup of butter in a large pot.

10. Add half and half, milk, flour, and parmesan cheese to the melted butter. Make sure to whisk continuously so that the sauce doesn't get lumpy. Start by adding only 2 tablespoons of flour, and add more as needed. As the sauce heats up, it'll get thicker.

11. Once the sauce has thickened, add the bacon and sausage mixture and mix.

12. Put pasta on a cookie sheet and pour desired amount of sauce over it. I ended up having a lot of sauce left over. I'll probably end up freezing it, for next time.

13. In a small bowl, add melted butter and bread crumbs. I used crushed seasoned bread pieces for stuffing, but obviously panko is way better.

14. Spread this mixture over the top of your sauce.

15. Set your oven to broil and put your pasta in the oven. Let broil until the top is golden brown and crispy. Obviously, a bit less "golden brown" than the one pictured above. (Apparently the ovens in our on campus apartments are infernos. Don't worry, it was still delicious.) It should only take a few minutes.