By Olivia's school concert was Tuesday. She stood in the second row in her white shirt — the one I bought at Target for $6.99 because the school dress code said "white button-down" and Target's interpretation of "button-down" is close enough when you have five children and a finite supply of both money and patience. She sang "Silver Bells" with the kind of earnest concentration that ten-year-olds bring to things they care about, mouth wide, eyes fixed on the music teacher, hands clasped in front of her like she was holding something fragile. She was holding something fragile. We all are.
The nightmares are less frequent now. Not gone — they come maybe once a week instead of three times — but less. She still won't talk about them in detail. Her therapist says this is normal. I hate the word normal. Normal is a word people use when they mean "we don't know how to fix it but it's not getting worse," and I am supposed to find comfort in that, and some nights I do, and some nights I lie in bed and listen for her footsteps in the hallway and the comfort is nowhere.
The Primary nativity was Sunday. Noah was a sheep. He was the loudest sheep in the history of the Orem Second Ward nativity, possibly the loudest sheep in the history of sheep, and he baa'd with such enthusiasm that the baby Jesus — Sister Rasmussen's three-month-old, wrapped in a dish towel — startled and cried, and I laughed, actually laughed, from the gut, in the middle of sacrament meeting. Then I stopped laughing because three-month-old babies in nativities are a specific kind of torture this year, and the laughter turned into something else, and Brandon put his hand on my knee and pressed, which is his language for "I see you, stay here," and I stayed.
I pulled freezer meals every night this week. Monday: taco soup. Tuesday: chicken alfredo, reheated while I ironed Olivia's white shirt. Wednesday: sloppy joes. Thursday: breakfast burritos for dinner because no one monitors what constitutes dinner in December and burritos are burritos regardless of the hour. Friday: the cheesy potato soup, which Lily ate two bowls of and then declared her favorite food in the world, which lasts until Saturday when her favorite food will be something else entirely because she is six and loyalty to soup is not a developmental milestone. The freezer held. The week held. I held. That is the report.
Tuesday was the concert — Olivia in her $6.99 Target button-down, holding something fragile with both hands — and when we got home I pulled the chicken alfredo from the freezer and reheated it while I ironed her shirt for the next day, and that was enough. That is the thing about freezer meals in December: they don’t ask anything of you. This lighter fettuccine alfredo is the one I come back to because it reheats beautifully and it’s creamy enough to feel like comfort without leaving anyone feeling heavy, which matters when you’re already carrying a lot. If you’re building your own December freezer, start here.
Easy 20-Minute Lighter Fettuccine Alfredo
Prep Time: 5 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 20 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 12 oz fettuccine pasta
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup whole milk (or 2% for lighter)
- 4 oz reduced-fat cream cheese, cubed and softened
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded or sliced (optional, for a full meal)
- Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook fettuccine according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water before draining. Drain and set aside.
- Build the sauce base. While pasta cooks, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute until fragrant but not browned.
- Add the liquids. Pour in chicken broth and milk. Bring to a gentle simmer, then add the cream cheese cubes. Whisk steadily until the cream cheese is fully melted and the sauce is smooth, about 3–4 minutes.
- Add Parmesan. Reduce heat to low. Stir in grated Parmesan, black pepper, salt, and nutmeg. Continue stirring until the cheese is melted and the sauce is creamy. If it thickens too much, whisk in a splash of the reserved pasta water.
- Combine. Add the drained fettuccine (and cooked chicken, if using) directly to the skillet. Toss everything together over low heat until the pasta is well coated and heated through, about 1–2 minutes.
- Serve. Divide into bowls. Top with extra Parmesan and fresh parsley. Serve immediately, or cool completely before portioning into freezer-safe containers for up to 3 months.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 480 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 56g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 520mg