Recipe(tried): Olive Garden Fettucine Alfredo ... New additions

OLIVE GARDEN ALFREDO FETTUCINE
(copycat recipe)

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, cut up
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup milk
8 oz. fettuccine noodles, cooked

In large saucepan combine cream cheese, parmesan, butter and milk stirring constantly until smooth. Toss pasta with sauce coating well, leftovers freeze well [although we wouldn't know!]

Makes 4 servings
Source: Gloria Pitzer's secret recipe

I made this again last night and this is what I did this time ....I will tell you it was the BEST ever. Certainly not a real Alfredo but what else would you call it?

I made the actual Alfredo sauce but used 1/2 & 1/2 instead of milk, I also added some thawed frozen chopped spinach, squeezed (1/4 cup?). I probably tripled the original recipe as we were serving 12 and could have served 20 by the time I was done!

These additions are what made it extra special ... They were done as follows:
12 oz. fresh mushrooms (Clean & put them in a bowl with Kahlua, try to cover the mushrooms; let them soak a bit.)

Melt 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter til sizzling. Add the mushroom AND Kahlua, turned med high to reduce just a bit.

Next add:
just a few chunks of sweet onions (maybe 1/4 large onion?)
1/4 handful of cooked crumbled bacon (Hormel pre-packaged pre-cooked)
1/2 red bell pepper cut in chunks
1/2 yellow bell pepper cut in chunks
more butter as needed
few pine nuts (used up the bit left in a bag)
cook & reduce

Add (EVERYTHING is approx. measure):
1 cup (equivalent when thawed) frozen salad shrimp rinsed and thawed
3/4 cup frozen thawed small scallops (I should have cooked them before adding as they were not precooked but I forgot so I let my whole mix simmer covered more then I wanted to cook it)

Continue to cook and reduce but not all the way (you can add more butter and or Kahlua for taste). Let simmer until ready cook pasta. At that time I add it all to the Alfredo sauce, including all liquid. Stir it into the sauce well. Leave the sauce covered on low when cooking the pasta.

When I serve this I cook up the noodles (any flat spaghetti noodle works). I used 2 boxes last night. Rinse in hot water, drain, put 1/2 noodles in rather flat large bowl, pour on just a bit of sauce, toss, add more noodles, just a bit more sauce, toss and then serve with sauce on the side. This way the noodles don't dry out and the sauce lovers can go to town.

This was a VERY tasty birthday dinner. As always I also served other plainer stuff for those less adventurous -- who are fearful of my "masterpieces" -- this time as usual I didn't really need to do that.
Enjoy ~~ Page
(I'll post the "cake" -- NOT! on the party board)