Guiltless Alfredo sauce

My husband really likes Alfredo sauce, but it can be very heavy and loaded with fat. Which translates to a once in a long while type of dinner. I tried this version that utilizes low fat cream cheese for a lighter version, and it was delicious! Even the critics in our house who insist they hate cream cheese ate this up. Again, this recipe came from the Our Best Bites cookbook, and I'm telling you, those ladies really know what they are doing! Thanks Kate and Sara for another wonderful recipe!

Guiltless Alfredo Sauce

2 cups low-fat milk (I used 1%)

1/3 cup (3 oz.) low-fat cream cheese

2 Tbl flour

1 tsp kosher salt (I used regular salt)

1 Tbl butter

3 garlic cloves, minced (I used 1/2 tsp garlic powder, but I'll go down to 1/4 tsp next time)

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese***

In a blender, blend the milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt until smooth and set aside.

In a large, nonstick pan, melt butter on medium-high heat and add the garlic. Saute the garlic for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly to prevent the garlic from sticking and burning.

Add the milk mixture to the pan. Stir constantly for 3-4 minutes, or until it just comes to a simmer. Keep stirring and let it cook for a few minutes more or until the sauce thickens, about 6-7 minutes.

Once the sauce has started to thicken, remove from heat. Whisk the cheese into the sauce and immediately cover the pan.

Allow the sauce to stach for at least 10 minutes before using. It will continue to thicken upon standing.

Serve immediately. Refrigerate leftovers for upt to 5 days. The sauce will become very thick once refrigerated. To use it, reheat the sauce and add a little milk until the desired consistency is reached.

Tangy Meatloaf Topping

I'll be honest: I hate meatloaf toppings. I hate all the meatloaf toppings I've ever had--except for my mum's. That was pretty good, but still not great. I think it was just a little too sweet. I despise toppings that use more than a tablespoon of ketchup. C'mon people....do we really need more ketchup in our lives?

So when I made meatloaf for the first time I was resolved NOT to use the meatloaf topping that was written down in my old Betty Crocker cookbook (p. 239), which employed--you guessed it--lots of ketchup. So I just kind of played around with some things in my cupboards until EUREKA! I had discovered a tangy topping. It was so good with the savory meatloaf that this is the only one I use now. Try it out for yourself!

Ingredients:
2 T. Dijon mustard
2 t. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. lemon juice
3 t. molasses, divided

Directions:
1. Whisk together all ingredients except 1 t. molasses.
2. Spread over finished meatloaf and drizzle extra molasses across the top. Serve hot.

Homemade Marinara Sauce

I was going to direct you to this recipe in a dish I will be posting later this week, but I was shocked that I hadn't posted it yet! This is a great marinara sauce that has a lot of flavor and can be used as a dipping sauce, pizza sauce, or of course, a pasta sauce. The sauce also freezes well for future uses. Thanks goes to my mom for this recipe!

Marinara Sauce

1/2 cup oil

2 medium garlic cloves, diced or crushed (I used a garlic press)

3-1/2 cups, or a 28 oz. can, crushed tomatoes

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp dried chopped parsley

1 tsp dried oregano

1/8 tsp pepper

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until lightly browned. Add remaining ingredients and cook rapidly, uncovered, for 15 minutes. (The oil will separate from the tomatoes if allowed to stand for a long period of time, so just stir it to redistribute it again.)

Nacho Cheese Sauce

Nachos are an easy and quick meal. Plus they are versatile because you can put whatever toppings you want on them. I grew up just microwaving shredded cheese on top of the tortilla chips for nachos. But my mother-in-law serves them with this sauce, and it was a nice change. The sauce is very mild with no spice at all, which makes it great for kids. However, it would also be easy to spice up with some Tobasco sauce or red pepper flakes in the sauce, or with spicy salsa and/or jalepenos on top. Whether cooking for a crowd or for your family, this is sure to be a hit!

Nacho Cheese Sauce

2 cans Cambell's Cheddar condensed soup

1/2 cup sour cream**

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese**

Heat soup and sour cream together over medium until hot. Add cheese and stir until well combined. Serve over tortilla chips and top with desired taco toppings (i.e. taco meat, beans, tomatoes, shredded lettuce, olives, etc.)

**Amounts are approximate. Use what tastes good to you!

Curried Apricot Glaze for Chicken or Chops

A recipe, AND A PICTURE! Impressed? So am I.

This was so easy. I actually decided about five minutes before I started that this is what we would have for dinner! (I'm usually a big planner when it comes to dinners, so this is a biggy.) I didn't have everything so I compromised. (My compromises will be in parentheses next to the real ingredients.)

1 can apricot nectar (2 T. fruit medley baby food and 1 T. or so of water)

1 T. Dijon mustard

1 T. soy sauce

1 t. curry powder (maybe a little more)

2 sliced fresh apricots

2 green onions (I didn't have any, but I think it would be even better with them!)

1. Mix first four ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk.

2. In pan, lightly sautee apricots and onions for about 2 min. Pour curry mixture into pan and cook for an additional 2 or 3 minutes--until slightly thickened.

We ate it over baked chicken and rice with creamed corn. (I wouldn't eat it with the corn again, but it was what we had that could be cooked up in three minutes.) The original recipe served it over pan-seared pork chops, which is pretty easy too. I just didn't have those on hand. This makes enough for two people.

Maple Pancake Syrup

We eat a lot of breakfast foods at our house (like things of the waffle and pancake variety) and I'm always looking for ways to change it up. When I found this recipe, I thought it would be fun to try since I usually just make plain ol' buttermilk syrup. This was sooooo good, and is another winning recipe from an old ward cookbook. I particularly like this recipe because you can use regular milk or buttermilk depending on what you have on hand. And if you happen to have leftovers, they store well in the fridge. Just reheat and serve! And I didn't take a picture of this one, but I think everyone knows what pancake syrup looks like. Try it and you'll be in heaven!

Maple Pancake Syrup

1 cube (1/2 cup) butter or margarine (I used butter)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk (I haven't tried it yet, but I think buttermilk would be fine, too)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp maple flavoring (I bought a 2 oz bottle for $3- which will last a while)

Bring to a boil in a medium sized saucepan, then remove from heat and serve warm.

When I "boiled" mine, it didn't actually boil like water does. Instead, it got really frothy and started expanding, at which point I stirred it and cooked it for a couple of minutes just to be safe. (So make sure you use a saucepan that is bigger than what you think need or you might have to clean up a sticky stove top.)

Pumpkin Pankcakes with Cinnamon Buttermilk Syrup

I know pumpkin season is quickly coming to a close and I have meant to post this recipe for a couple of weeks since I made this yummy breakfast! It is definitely a recipe that you could make year round as the pancakes have a subtle pumpkin taste, it's just I know it gets harder to find canned pumpkin as we move past the holidays. Also, I would highly recommend making the syrup if you make the pancakes because the seasonings go so well together, but you could get by just using storebought syrup (although, you will definitely miss out!). Another wonderful thing is that this recipe only requires 1/2 cup of canned pumpkin, which means there is a lot leftover in the can to freeze and use for future breakfasts or meals. And this is an easy way to sneak in extra vegetables to your diet! This is a recipe we will be making frequently as even my 18-month old will easily gobble up 2 to 3 pancakes! Thanks goes to my mom for yet another wonderful recipe. Yummy!

Pumpkin Pancakes

2 c. all-purpose flour
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1 Tbs. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cup milk
1/2 c. canned pumpkin
3 eggs
1/4 C. vegetable oil

In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and ginger. In another bowl, combine the eggs, milk, pumpkin, oil . Stir combined wet ingredients into dry ingredients until moistened. Scoop batter by 1/4 cups onto a preheated hot griddle sprayed with cooking spray. When bubbles begin to form, flip the pancake over. Cook until golden.

Cinnamon Buttermilk Syrup

1/2 Cup butter
1 Cup Sugar
2/3 C. buttermilk
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. Cinnamon**
1/2 t. baking soda.

Mix Butter, sugar and buttermilk together and boil 2 full minutes. Remove from heat. Add vanilla, cinnamon and baking soda.Serve over pancakes, waffles or french toast. Makes 2 cups of syrup.

**Omit the cinnamon for traditional buttermilk syrup

Cinnamon Syrup

I bought some really cheap syrup at the store and my husband hated it! So I started searching for some recipes for syrup that I actually had all of the ingredients for. This recipe is really easy, cheap and it tastes great!

-about 8 servings

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup water

DIRECTIONS
Stir together the white sugar, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a small saucepan. Stir in vanilla extract and water. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring often. Continue to boil and stir until mixture thickens to syrup consistency. Remove from heat; cool 10 minutes before serving.

• It stores well in the fridge

Alfredo Sauce

Pasta sauces can be expensive to buy, but there's really no reason for buying pasta sauces. They are so easy to make. This is a recipe for Alfredo sauce. We eat it over fettuccine, and sometimes we mix in some coarsely chopped broccoli tops.

**Just to warn you, my family has always called this "heart attack on a plate" so you probably shouldn't have it once a week or more.**

1 stick (1/2 c.) butter
2/3 - 1 c. Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. cream (or milk, I've even used skim for this, and it's a little healthier)
1 egg, beaten
ground pepper to taste

1. Melt the butter over medium heat.
2. Add Parmesan to melted butter while stirring with a whisk.
3. Turn heat to low, and stir in milk.
4. Stir in egg and add pepper.

That's it! This makes enough for about one pound of fettuccine. If you only have a couple mouths to feed like I do, I suggest making a whole batch and saving out half of it in a mason jar or something for next time. It'll hold in the fridge for two or three weeks.

Homemade chicken broth

The other day I tried my hand at making some homemade chicken broth. It's really easy to do and requires little supervision. The best part is that it is practically free to make!

Homemade chicken broth
1 chicken carcass (Or you can use the bones from bone in chicken breasts, thighs, or drumsticks. It'll work better if you have more than just 3 or 4 bones, so if you need to, save some bones in the freezer until you have enough- probably around 10 or 12)

1 onion, quartered

3 or 4 sticks celery with greens

2 cups or so baby carrots or 3-4 regular carrots

2 bay leaves

about 6 cups of water

salt to taste

Put chicken carcass into crockpot stoneware and add onion, celery, carrots, and bay leaves. Add water until it reaches 2 inches from rim of crock. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Remove vegetables, leaves, and chicken bones from broth. Add salt to taste. Spoon into ziploc baggies by 1 or 2 cup portions (I used sandwich bags, and they should not be filled with anymore than 2 cups each- 1 cup is probably more ideal). Place in refrigerator to cool. Once cooled, skim fat off of top of broth and discard.

To store, freeze (It's best to lay the baggies flat on a baking sheet until they're frozen so you can conserve precious freezer space. You can remove the sheet once the baggies retain a flat shape and then use the baggies to fill whatever nooks or crannies you have in your freezer.)

Honey butter

Honey Butter

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4-1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup honey

Mix the butter, sugar and honey until well combined. Will resemble cake frosting when finished. Serve with warm cornbread.


***Please note that the above amounts are estimated. I actually never measure anything but the butter (it's just a stick), so make it to taste. I'm just trying to give you an idea of how much you'll need.

White Sauce

White sauce can be used as a substitute in dishes calling for "cream of" soups. I was in a hurry the other day and didn't want to make a large batch of it, so I found a recipe that is equivalent to 1 can of "cream of" soup (I can't remember where I found the recipe though). I'm also including a larger batch that you keep in the fridge and use as you need it. I like the idea of using white sauce in my cooking instead of the traditional soups because I can control my sodium, I can control the flavor better, it helps use up food storage items, and is inexpensive.

Basic White Sauce
yield: about 1-1/2 cup or the equivalent to 1 can of "cream of" soup

2 Tbl flour
dash of salt
1/4 cup powdered milk
1 cup cold water
1 Tbl butter/margarine

In a covered jar, combine first four ingredients and shake until blended (I didn't have a jar, so I used a ziploc baggie and it worked fine). In a saucepan, melt butter. Whisk in water and flour mixture. Cook over low heat until mixture is thickened and bubbly, stirring constantly. Season with your favorite spices (I used salt, parsley, and pepper). You can use this in any of your favorite recipes in place of 1 can of "cream of" soup.

White Sauce Mix- from the Make-a-Mix cookbook
yield: 1 quart white sauce mix or the equivalent of 8 cans of "cream of" soups (about 1-1/2 cups sauce per can)

2 cups instant nonfat dry milk (or you can use 1-1/2 cups regular nonfat dry milk)
1 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup butter/margarine

Combine dry milk, flour and salt. Mix well. With a pastry blender, cut in butter or margarine until mixture resembles fine crumbs (you could also use a fork to cut in the butter/margarine if you don't have a pastry cutter). Put in a large airtight container and store in refrigerator. Use within 2 months.

To reconstitute white sauce mix:
In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup white sauce mix and 1 cup cool water. For thinner sauce, decrease white sauce mix to 1/4 cup. For thicker sauce, increase white sauce mix to 3/4 cup. Cook over low heat until smooth, stirring constantly. Season with pepper, herbs and spices, if desired. Makes about 1-1/2 cups sauce.

Oh-So-Easy Pizza Sauce

Buying sauce in a jar is expensive, and when you are just going to top off all that "gourmet" goodness with more veggies, it kind of loses its flare. So, here's some easy pizza sauce.

1 (8 oz) can of plain tomato sauce
garlic salt
Italian seasoning

1. Mix all to taste.
Yield: enough for one 12" pizza crust.