"Guiltless" Alfredo Sauce

Alright ladies, I'm not sure I consider anything with a cup of parmesan cheese guiltless, but compared to other alfredo recipes out there, this one really is not so bad. And it's delicious. And you can whip it up in like 10 minutes, literally. Here's the deal:

Posted By sara (of Our Best Bites)

Ingredients:
2 C low-fat milk (I used fat free)
1/3 C (3 oz) low fat cream cheese
2 T flour
1 t salt
1 T butter
3 garlic cloves
1 C grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Place milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth. In a non-stick sauce pan, melt butter on med-high heat and add garlic. Let the garlic saute for about 30 seconds, you don’t want to burn it.

Then add milk mixture to the pan. Stir constantly for about 3 or 4 minutes or until it just comes to a simmer. Keep stirring and let it cook for a few minutes more. It should be much thicker now.

When it’s nice and thickened remove the pan from the heat. Add the cheese, stir it up and then cover immediately. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before using. It will continue to thicken upon standing. Also, if you have leftovers in the fridge, the sauce will thicken almost into a solid. Just re-heat and add a little milk and it will be back to normal again.

Note: At the recommendation of Sara (the blogger herself), I used this sauce to make an Asain pizza tonight. Yum! I used the leftovers from the Asian BBQ chicken, mixed some of the marinade from the chicken (that I had reserved before marinating, since I had planned for this round two meal) with the alfredo sauce (only used about 1/3 of the alfredo and eyeballed the marinade). One the pizza went the Asian alfredo, mozzeralla cheese, Asian BBQ chicken, cilantro, and thin sliced red onion. It was a hit! Ben's family makes pizza every Sunday and they have a pretty killer thin crust dough recipe. If you want it, let me know and I'll pass it along. Happy eating!

{Homemade} Marinara Sauce

We all have our favorite marinara ... store-bought or from scratch, but I'll offer up this recipe as a super easy (i.e. it doesn't have to simmer all day) and delicious marinara. I've converted to making my own because of this recipe.

1 (28 oz.) can of diced OR crushed tomatoes (or 2, 14.5 oz cans) don't drain
1 (6 oz.) can of tomato paste
1-2 garlic cloves (or 1/2-1 tsp garlic powder)
1 TB dried parsley (4 TB fresh, minced)
1 TB brown sugar
2 TB olive oil

1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano (or Italian seasoning)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 C chicken stock

Put everything except chicken stock into a blender or food processor and blend away!
Combine sauce with chicken stock and simmer for 30 minutes.
Use with ANYTHING that requires marinara

Yield:  approx. 35 oz. of sauce

Hot Fudge Sauce

Okay here is the recipe for the Hot Fudge Sauce. It is soooo delish but I am not promising you it is healthy. We eat it with Tyson's homemade Peppermint Ice Cream at Christmastime. Here goes:

Ingredients:
1 pound butter (yep a pound)
2 cups granulated sugar
2- 12 oz cans of evaporated milk
dash salt
1/3 cup dark karo syrup (I always use light because that is what I have)
1 12 oz pkg chocolate chips
1 pound caramels
1 tsp vanilla

Put everything except vanilla in a large microwave safe bowl and microwave stirring every few minutes on high power until all is melted and fluid. Remove from microwave and add vanilla. Beat with mixer 2-3 minutes. Makes 2 quarts. Keep in fridge 6 weeks or may be frozen and it will keep for longer.

tomato sauce with butter & onion

i got this recipe from smitten kitchen and she got it from someone else. the only way this sauce could be easier is if you just opened a jar. the only way it could be tastier is .... ?

just to prepare you, this is a simple and delicious tomato sauce. it's NOT the typical sweet, garlic-y and basil-y tomato sauce you might be used to, but give it a chance. the beauty is in the unadulterated simplicity. and if you don't like it, the ingredients are cheap so you won't feel too bad. ☺

28 oz can whole tomatoes (use the best quality/brand you can)
1 medium yellow onion, peeled & halved
5 TB butter

put tomatoes, onion halves and butter in a 3 qt. sauce pan. bring to a simmer (med heat), then reduce to low heat and simmer continuously for 45 minutes – or until the fat separates to the top of the sauce. stir occasionally, crushing tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon.

serve over spaghetti or whatever pasta suits your fancy! grated parmesan totally optional – i liked it with and without.