Homemade Alfredo Pasta

This is a super easy pasta recipe that you can feel proud of for having created the sauce yourself. Any kind of pasta can be used, but angel hair pasta is what is pictured. This meal is nicely paired with a green vegetable or a salad and some garlic bread. It also reheats really well.

Alfredo Pasta: From Kraft Foods.com

½ lb Pasta, cooked and drained

1 ¼ cups Chicken Broth (I use the little cubes that disintegrate in water, easiest to store)

4 tsp Flour

4 ounces Neufchatel Cheese, cubed

    - ½ of a 8 ounce block

    - You’ll find this next to the cream cheese, they look identical

3 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese

    - You can use the Kraft variety in the green container, it doesn’t have to be a fresh block

¼ tsp Garlic Powder

¼ tsp Pepper

1. Cook Pasta as directed on packaging

2. Mix Chicken Broth and Flour in a skillet with high sides over medium heat

3. Whisk constantly until lumps are gone

4. Add in the Neufchatel, Parmesan, Garlic Powder, and Pepper

5. Cook 2 minutes or until fully combined and bubbling

6. Pour over cooked Pasta

** You can also add Chicken into this recipe. Cook it before the alfredo sauce, doubling up on the pan use. Add it back into the sauce before pouring over the pasta.

** Other options: Sprinkle with Parsley before serving, use whole wheat pasta for a healthier result, or stir in cooked broccoli once finished cooking. 

Remember, as always, if anyone has any questions or recipe requests, please don't hesitate to comment or ask!!!

A Hearty Steak Dinner

Tonight's Menu: 

** New York Strip Steak served with a Horseradish Chive Sauce
** Parmesan Potatoes
** Baked Corn

Baked Corn is one of my husband's favorite side dishes. The Parmesan Potatoes are my favorite side dish. So favorite that I asked my mom to make them for my birthday meal for many years in a row. Now that I'm all grown up I can make them as often as my stomach desires. Sometimes it is really fun to grow up.

This meal flows really easily in the kitchen. Preheat your oven. Make your potatoes and pop them in the oven. Make your corn and pop that in too. Clean up and set the table. Heat up your Cast Iron Skillet with a little oil. Season your steaks lightly with Olive Oil and Salt and Pepper on both sides and then sear on a medium to high heat for 2 minutes per side to get a medium well result. Allow steaks to rest in the skillet after they are cooked while you move the other two dishes from the oven to the table. Serve the steaks. Call hungry family members. I didn't end up making a salad for this meal although I think it would have been a healthy addition.

Horseradish Chive Sauce: From Cooking Light magazine

2/3 cup Sour Cream

2 Tbsp Chives, chopped

3 Tbsp Prepared Horseradish

1 tsp Lemon Juice

1 tsp Dijon Mustard

1/8 tsp Salt

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl until fully combined.

2. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Parmesan Potatoes: From the Weavertown School Cookbook

6 medium Potatoes, sliced into small round chunks

1/3 cup Butter, melted

¼ cup Flour

¼ cup Parmesan Cheese

Salt & Pepper

Italian Seasoning

**Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Slice Potatoes into the small round chunks

2. Melt the Butter and pour into a baking dish

3. In a plastic bag, combine: Flour, Cheese, Salt, and Pepper

4. Add the Potatoes to the bag and shake to coat

5. Place Potatoes in a single layer in the butter

6. Allow the rest of the flour mixture that isn’t affixed to the potatoes to fall into the dish as well

7. Sprinkle with Italian Seasoning

8. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until tender

Baked Corn: From the Mennonite Community Cookbook

2 cups Corn- can be fresh, frozen, or canned

2 Tbsp Crisco

1 ½ Tbsp Flour

1 cup Milk

1 Tbsp Sugar

1 tsp Salt

1/8 tsp Pepper

2 Eggs

½ cup Buttered Crumbs

** Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Melt the Crisco in a saucepan and then add the flour

2. Whisk or Stir to get the lumps worked out

3. Add the Milk gradually and bring to a boiling point while stirring constantly

4. Add the Corn, Sugar, Salt, and Pepper and heat thoroughly

5. Remove from heat and add the Eggs

6. Pour into a greased baking dish

7. Sprinkle with the Bread Cumbs

8. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes

Peach Smoothies & Malted Milk Chocolate Cookies -- Yes, Please!

I have been obsessed with canning these past two weeks. (A post to come about that later on). Needless to say canning is hot, sweaty, and unrelenting work. You also frequently get burned. So at the end of the day yesterday I was not interested in food whatsoever, but I did have an urge for a fresh, cold smoothie. I had peaches on hand and this is what resulted from my food urge.

Peach Yogurt Smoothie – From Food.com

4 Peaches, peeled, pitted, and quartered

2/3 cup Vanilla Yogurt

½ cup Milk

1 ½ Tbsp Brown Sugar

Dash of Ground Nutmeg

6 – 10 Ice Cubes

1.  Blend first five ingredients in blend until fully processed

2.  Add Ice Cubes a few at a time to achieve desired thickness

3.  Pour into glass and enjoy. Extra can be refrigerated for a day or two. 

I never did get into the mood to make supper, so we just got some take out once the little one was in bed. I did, however, pause our movie to make a quick dessert. 

Another homemade ice cream sandwich - but this recipe just uses malted milk chocolate chip cookies as the sides to the ice cream. A lot easier to make on the spur of the moment than the previously posted banana split ice cream sandwiches. I had made the cookies the day before and just put them to this use for a little movie night snack. 

Malted Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies – From Tasty Kitchen.com

2 stick Butter, at room temperature

¾ cup Brown Sugar

¾ cup White Sugar

2 Eggs

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

½ cup Malted Milk Powder

2 cups Flour

1 ¼ Baking Soda

1 ¼ Salt

Milk Chocolate Chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Cream Butter, then add the Sugars and cream again until fluffy

3. Add Eggs, beat slightly, add Vanilla Extract and beat until combined

4. Add Malted Milk Powder and beat until combined

5. Combine Flour, Baking Soda, and Salt. Combine with Butter mixture

6. Stir in Chocolate Chips

7. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet and bake for 7 minutes. 

** I adjusted the cooking temperature and time of this recipe because mine initially came out way too crispy and almost burnt. So I do 350 degrees for 7 minutes – but I split the seven minutes with 3 minutes being cooked on the bottom rack of the oven and then the remaining 4 minutes being cooked on the higher rack. When you take them out they may still look a little pale, but they finish cooking and browning while still on the tray out of the oven.

** I feel it is hard to call these cookies. They are exceedingly thin, practically wafer-like, and they are really chewy if not over-cooked. They work splendidly as the shells for homemade ice cream sandwiches.

** I ended up ordering the Malt Powder online. On Amazon.com I saw that it looks like it could be found in the creamer section of a larger grocery store, but I hadn’t checked there. So it is possible that it could be found in your local store. 

---------------------------------------------

I doubt whether the world holds for anyone a more soul-stirring surprise 

than the first adventure with ice cream.  

~Heywood Broun

---------------------------------------

Monday Food

Often times on Mondays it is hard for me to get back into the groove of food for the week. Over the weekend I may have eaten out for breakfast or at least changed up my typical cereal or oatmeal routine. I usually don't eat at the regular 11:30 or 5:30 time slots that are so dutifully followed during the working days. I might have skipped supper all together in favor of popcorn at the movie theater. It always is a little chaotic every weekend and once Monday rolls around it takes me a little bit to resettle.

This Monday I settled back in by cooking for a large part of the day. We actually went swimming in the morning and I think that is what brought on the cooking mood. Nothing creates a hunger like some time at the pool. Maybe that is just me??

Here are two of the items I made yesterday-
** 1000 ingredient Sloppy Joe's
** Peach & Blueberry Cobbler

I also made tapioca pudding and some large salads and ate some leftover Chinese take out, but I figure that isn't really important on here.

It really feels like a lot of ingredients going into the sauce

Sloppy Joes’s  - From the Heinz Corporation

1 ½ lbs Ground Hamburger

1 cup tomato sauce

¾ cup Heinz 57 Sauce

2 Tbsp Ketchup

1 Tbsp Mustard

1 tsp Garlic, chopped

1 tsp Chili Powder

1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

½ tsp Salt

½ tsp Sugar

½ tsp oregano

½ tsp pepper

1. Cook Beef on a medium heat

2. Once half way through cooking begin to add the remaining ingredients, stirring as you add each one.

3. Once all the ingredients have been added, reduce the heat to low and allow mixture to simmer for a minimum of 10 minutes.

4. Serve hot with hamburger rolls. 

I haven't gone back to the simple way of making sloppy joes since I found this recipe. I joke about how many ingredients it takes, but the blend it creates results in a tangy sweet beef sandwich that hits the spot. Unless you don't like tangy or sweet with your beef ... But for those who somehow have most of this stuff on hand, give it a try. Just don't substitute anything for the Heinz 57 sauce! It is rereplacable in this recipe and worth the added cost to your grocery bill. 

With messy foods we have a shirt is optional standard for Bridget.

Blueberry-Peach Cobbler – From Cooking Light

5 lbs Peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1 cup Sugar, divided

½ tsp Salt, divided

1 ½ cups  + 2 Tbsp Flour

Cooking Spray

1 tsp Baking Powder

½ cup Butter, softened or room temperature

2 large Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

¾ cup Buttermilk

2 cups Blueberries

2 Tbsp Turbinado Sugar or Raw Sugar – can be replaced by regular granulated sugar or omitted all together

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Place cleaned Peaches in a mixing bowl and top with Lemon juice, ¾ cup Sugar, a sprinkle of Salt, and 2 Tbsp of Flour

3. Coat a 9x13 dish with cooking spray and pour peach mixture into the dish

4. Measure 1 ½ cups Flour into a mixing bowl adding in ¼ tsp Salt and the Baking Powder

5. In a separate bowl, cream the Butter and ¼ cup Sugar until light and fluffy – takes about 2 minutes

6. Add in the Eggs and Vanilla extract, beating with the mixer between each addition

7. Taking turns – add in small amounts of the Flour mixture and the Buttermilk to the sugar mixture.

8. Beat well between each addition

9. Fold the Blueberries into this mixture and then pour it on top of the peaches in the baking dish

10. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar if you have some – I do use this ingredient and I really like the subtle addition it has to the dish. It can be found in the baking aisle next to the regular sugar

11. Place on a foil lined baking sheet before placing in the oven because it is likely to spill over while cooking.

12. Bake at 375 degrees for 50-60 minutes. The top should be golden brown and bubbling.

This recipe is a lot of work, I'm not going to hide that fact, but it is totally worth it. Make it for some guests, lure your neighbor over while they are mowing on a hot afternoon for a cool down bite to eat (that's what I did) or just treat yourself to a serving at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  It really hits the spot if you appreciate fresh fruit desserts. Just prepare yourself for sticky fingers. It isn't difficult, just takes a little while from start to finish.