Source: The Pioneer Woman
Ingredients:
for the fry bread:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder (slightly rounded teaspoons)
3/4 cups milk
water as needed to get dough to come together
vegetable shortening or lard for frying (I used vegetable oil, even though P-Dub says it's way, way, way better with shortening and/or lard)
for the tacos:
1 lb ground beef
1 can black beans
1 can tomato sauce
1 packet taco seasoning (or 2-3 Tablespoons homemade taco seasoning)
shredded lettuce
grated cheese
chopped tomatoes
diced green onions
sour cream and/or ranch dressing
salsa
Directions:
for the fry bread:
Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir with a fork as you pour in the milk; keep stirring for a bit to get it to come together as much as possible. Add just enough water (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup) to get it to come together. Cover the bowl with a dish towel and let it sit for 35 to 45 minutes to rest (mine rested for over an hour and it was just fine).
When you're ready to make the fry bread, heat about 1 to 2 inches shortening/lard (or oil) in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Grab a plum-sized piece of dough (or larger if you want larger fry bread) and press it into a circle with your fingers: place it on a clean surface and begin pressing in the center and work your way out, stretching it as you go.
When the circle is about 4 to 7 inches (however big you want it) carefully drape it into the skillet. Allow it to fry on one side until golden brown, about 1 minute, then carefully flip it to the other side using tongs. Fry it for another 30 to 45 seconds.
Remove the fry bread to a paper towel-lined plate and allow it to drain while you fry the other pieces.
Serve warm!
for the tacos:
Brown the ground beef and drain the grease. Add the black beans, tomato sauce and taco seasoning and let everything simmer until your fry bread is ready to eat.
Take a piece of fry bread and top it with the meat mixture followed by lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cheese, salsa and sour cream (in no particular order) and/or any other taco toppings you love.
Notes:
We had regular ol' taco salad a couple of weeks ago for dinner. As we were eating, Gregg mentioned that he hadn't had forever, but loved, Navajo tacos. I hadn't eaten a Navajo taco since elementary school lunch days, let alone made them to eat myself, but I was up to the challenge. Luckily, good ol' P-Dub spelled everything out plain and simple and it was no challenge at all to whip these up for our dinner last week. Yum! I think we'll keep these in our rotation.
One more note: I halved the recipe for the fry bread since it was only two of us eating and it made 4 good-sized (I'd say 4-5ish inches diameter) fry breads and one little guy (~2 incher) that was left over.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Smoky Corn Chowder
Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe
Ingredients:
4-5 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 cup diced onion or leeks
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (I only had regular paprika, so to get the smoky flavor that I was missing, I added a few drops of liquid smoke at the end with the salt and pepper)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen corn
3 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth (I just had two 14-oz cans in my cupboard, so I used them and then upped the milk to 1 1/2 cups)
1 cup milk (see note above)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 green onions, white parts cut off and discarded and green parts thinly sliced
Directions:
In a 4 or 5-quart saucepan, cook the chopped bacon over medium heat until golden and crisp. Scoop onto a paper towel-lined plate and discard (or save it in a cup in the fridge like I did for later deliciousness) all of the bacon grease except a very thin coating (about 1-2 teaspoons).
Add the onion and cook for 5-7 minutes until translucent. Stir in the garlic, paprika and red pepper and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes.
Stir in the corn, broth and milk. Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Transfer half of the soup to a blender (very carefully - don't overfill the blender since hot liquids will expand while blending!) and puree until mostly smooth.
Return the blended soup to the pot and add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Taste and add more if needed.
Serve warm topped with green onions and bacon.
Notes:
This soup was pretty good. Not great, but maybe I was expecting something creamier and hearty and thick, like I'm used to with corn chowder. This recipe was never advertised to be such a soup, so I can't really blame it. I don't know why mine didn't turn out lovely and yellow, like Mel's pictures, and was instead a kind of drab creamish-gray color. Not super appetizing looking. But it did taste pretty good, really. I liked the little kick from the red pepper flakes and, of course, the bacon and green onion combo was fantastic. We had this with some nice, thick slices of homemade Oatmeal Wheat Bread (only the BEST bread on the face of this earth, I've decided). Another successful Soup Thursday in the books.
Ingredients:
4-5 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 cup diced onion or leeks
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (I only had regular paprika, so to get the smoky flavor that I was missing, I added a few drops of liquid smoke at the end with the salt and pepper)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen corn
3 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth (I just had two 14-oz cans in my cupboard, so I used them and then upped the milk to 1 1/2 cups)
1 cup milk (see note above)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 green onions, white parts cut off and discarded and green parts thinly sliced
Directions:
In a 4 or 5-quart saucepan, cook the chopped bacon over medium heat until golden and crisp. Scoop onto a paper towel-lined plate and discard (or save it in a cup in the fridge like I did for later deliciousness) all of the bacon grease except a very thin coating (about 1-2 teaspoons).
Add the onion and cook for 5-7 minutes until translucent. Stir in the garlic, paprika and red pepper and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes.
Stir in the corn, broth and milk. Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Transfer half of the soup to a blender (very carefully - don't overfill the blender since hot liquids will expand while blending!) and puree until mostly smooth.
Return the blended soup to the pot and add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Taste and add more if needed.
Serve warm topped with green onions and bacon.
Notes:
This soup was pretty good. Not great, but maybe I was expecting something creamier and hearty and thick, like I'm used to with corn chowder. This recipe was never advertised to be such a soup, so I can't really blame it. I don't know why mine didn't turn out lovely and yellow, like Mel's pictures, and was instead a kind of drab creamish-gray color. Not super appetizing looking. But it did taste pretty good, really. I liked the little kick from the red pepper flakes and, of course, the bacon and green onion combo was fantastic. We had this with some nice, thick slices of homemade Oatmeal Wheat Bread (only the BEST bread on the face of this earth, I've decided). Another successful Soup Thursday in the books.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Lentil-Sausage Soup (ie: "Sick Soup")
Source: me
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
4 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, diced
4-6 stalks celery
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2-1 lb. Sage ground sausage (optional)
6 cups beef broth
2 medium zucchini, diced
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 c. lentils
2-3 tsp italian seasoning
Directions:
1. Saute carrots, onion, celery, sausage and garlic in oil until sausage is browned. Drain, if needed.
2. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer for 30 minutes or until lentils and sweet potatoes are soft.
Notes: Our family caught a wicked cold/flu bug this week and spent all day in bed today. With my limited energy, I wasn't interested in making a fancy dinner, I just wanted something soothing and nutritious. I tossed this with low expectations (for flavor, but high expectations for nutrition), but the final product was so delicious that I had to record and share it immediately. Mom's whole wheat stir-and-roll baking powder biscuits were the perfect side dish.
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
4 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, diced
4-6 stalks celery
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2-1 lb. Sage ground sausage (optional)
6 cups beef broth
2 medium zucchini, diced
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 c. lentils
2-3 tsp italian seasoning
Directions:
1. Saute carrots, onion, celery, sausage and garlic in oil until sausage is browned. Drain, if needed.
2. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer for 30 minutes or until lentils and sweet potatoes are soft.
Notes: Our family caught a wicked cold/flu bug this week and spent all day in bed today. With my limited energy, I wasn't interested in making a fancy dinner, I just wanted something soothing and nutritious. I tossed this with low expectations (for flavor, but high expectations for nutrition), but the final product was so delicious that I had to record and share it immediately. Mom's whole wheat stir-and-roll baking powder biscuits were the perfect side dish.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Eggnog Cranberry Muffins
Source: Recipegirl
Ingredients:
for the muffins:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 cup granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup eggnog
1/3 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon almond extract (I didn't have any almond extract so I used vanilla instead)
1 cup coarsely chopped frozen cranberries
2 Tablespoons granulated white sugar
for the streusel topping:
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, slightly softened
1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional (I had them, so I used them, and they were yummo)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray 14 to 16 muffin cups (I got 20 muffins out of this recipe) with nonstick spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder; set aside.
In a large bowl, mix eggs, sugar, eggnog, butter and almond extract. Mix in dry ingredients just until combined. Toss cranberries with 2 Tablespoons sugar and then stir into batter (whoops - I forgot to do the toss in sugar step - the cranberries may be a bit more tart than they would have, but they're still delish).
Prepare streusel topping: Combine topping ingredients using a pastry cutter (or two knives) until crumbly (I just used my fingers).
Fill prepared muffin cups two-thirds full. Top with streusel topping. Bake 18 to 22 minutes (mine only took 15 minutes), or until muffins test done with a toothpick inserted in the center coming out clean.
Notes:
This is one of the recipes I pinned recently when I was on an eggnog muffin recipe kick. I already tried the Eggnog Coffee Cake Muffins which were awesome, but I still had some eggnog left in the fridge and some frozen cranberries (I just bought a couple bags of fresh cranberries when they were on sale and tossed them in the freezer for days like this) in the freezer and they were calling my name. These turned out great! I think I like them better than the coffee cake version, and I liked those ones a lot. These have a very light eggnog flavor and the cranberries are a fun, tart (but not too tart) little burst of flavor. Love them!
Ingredients:
for the muffins:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 cup granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup eggnog
1/3 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon almond extract (I didn't have any almond extract so I used vanilla instead)
1 cup coarsely chopped frozen cranberries
2 Tablespoons granulated white sugar
for the streusel topping:
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, slightly softened
1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional (I had them, so I used them, and they were yummo)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray 14 to 16 muffin cups (I got 20 muffins out of this recipe) with nonstick spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder; set aside.
In a large bowl, mix eggs, sugar, eggnog, butter and almond extract. Mix in dry ingredients just until combined. Toss cranberries with 2 Tablespoons sugar and then stir into batter (whoops - I forgot to do the toss in sugar step - the cranberries may be a bit more tart than they would have, but they're still delish).
Prepare streusel topping: Combine topping ingredients using a pastry cutter (or two knives) until crumbly (I just used my fingers).
Fill prepared muffin cups two-thirds full. Top with streusel topping. Bake 18 to 22 minutes (mine only took 15 minutes), or until muffins test done with a toothpick inserted in the center coming out clean.
Notes:
This is one of the recipes I pinned recently when I was on an eggnog muffin recipe kick. I already tried the Eggnog Coffee Cake Muffins which were awesome, but I still had some eggnog left in the fridge and some frozen cranberries (I just bought a couple bags of fresh cranberries when they were on sale and tossed them in the freezer for days like this) in the freezer and they were calling my name. These turned out great! I think I like them better than the coffee cake version, and I liked those ones a lot. These have a very light eggnog flavor and the cranberries are a fun, tart (but not too tart) little burst of flavor. Love them!
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Sweet Rolls
Source: My mom
Ingredients:
for the dough:
1 Tablespoon yeast softened in 1/4 cup warm water
1 cup milk, scalded
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind, if desired
about 4 1/2 cups flour
for the filling:
1/4 - 1/2 cup softened butter
"generous amounts" of brown sugar, cinnamon sugar, chopped nuts (if desired), and raisins (if desired - here they are ALWAYS desired!)
for the icing:
mix melted butter, vanilla, powdered sugar and milk to desired glaze consistency
Variation: Orange Roll Twists (source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe)
I used the same dough recipe as above, but just filled and frosted them with this recipe below and it was awesome! I also tried her version of twisting the roll and baking it on a cookie sheet -see her post for pictures - it looked pretty and was so darn tasty!
for the filling:
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
Grated orange rind/zest from two large oranges (reserving 1/2 teaspoon grated rind for the glaze below)
for the glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice from about 1 orange
1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind/zest reserved from the filling above
Directions:
Scald the milk, cool to 90°. Add shortening, salt, and sugar. Mix till frothy. Add flour to make a thick batter. Add yeast, egg and lemon rind. Beat well. Add enough more flour to make a soft dough. Cover and let rest for 10-15 minutes. Knead well until the surface is smooth and satiny, and is covered with tiny blisters. Place in bowl, cover and let rise till slightly more than doubled in bulk. Punch down and let rise 30 minutes. Punch down and let rise 10 minutes. Roll into large rectangle. Cover with softened butter. Sprinkle generous amount of brown sugar, cinnamon sugar, nuts, and raisins. Roll it up shortways. Slice into 1 1/4" slices with thread. Put in 9x13" cake pan and cover and let rise till they double in size. (I made mine on Christmas Eve - mid day - and just let them do their rising in the fridge. On Christmas morning, I pulled them out of the fridge for about an hour and then popped them in the oven.) Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes, until brown. Spoon icing over warm rolls. Makes 12-14 rolls.
Notes:
For as long as I can remember we've had Sweet Rolls - these Sweet Rolls - for breakfast on Christmas morning. (Sometimes we'd request them for breakfast on our birthdays, too, and being the amazing mom she is, she'd make them for us.) Since we weren't in Logan for Christmas this year, I took it upon myself to carry on the tradition. I was a little intimidated, mostly because I made some alterations that I had never tried or seen tried before, but in the end they worked out marvelously. Gregg says I can make them whenever I get the hankering. Hopefully for my waistline (maybe not his) that will only be next Christmas.
Updated to add Orange Roll variation - we tried these for Christmas 2013 and they were a hit! I just made one batch of the dough and when it came time to roll it out and fill, I just split it in half using half for cinnamon-raisin-walnut and half for orange (I halved the recipe above for Mel's orange filling/icing and it was perfect for 6 rolls/twists).
 |
| photo courtesy: Gregg |
for the dough:
1 Tablespoon yeast softened in 1/4 cup warm water
1 cup milk, scalded
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind, if desired
about 4 1/2 cups flour
for the filling:
1/4 - 1/2 cup softened butter
"generous amounts" of brown sugar, cinnamon sugar, chopped nuts (if desired), and raisins (if desired - here they are ALWAYS desired!)
for the icing:
mix melted butter, vanilla, powdered sugar and milk to desired glaze consistency
Variation: Orange Roll Twists (source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe)
I used the same dough recipe as above, but just filled and frosted them with this recipe below and it was awesome! I also tried her version of twisting the roll and baking it on a cookie sheet -see her post for pictures - it looked pretty and was so darn tasty!
for the filling:
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
Grated orange rind/zest from two large oranges (reserving 1/2 teaspoon grated rind for the glaze below)
for the glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice from about 1 orange
1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind/zest reserved from the filling above
Directions:
Scald the milk, cool to 90°. Add shortening, salt, and sugar. Mix till frothy. Add flour to make a thick batter. Add yeast, egg and lemon rind. Beat well. Add enough more flour to make a soft dough. Cover and let rest for 10-15 minutes. Knead well until the surface is smooth and satiny, and is covered with tiny blisters. Place in bowl, cover and let rise till slightly more than doubled in bulk. Punch down and let rise 30 minutes. Punch down and let rise 10 minutes. Roll into large rectangle. Cover with softened butter. Sprinkle generous amount of brown sugar, cinnamon sugar, nuts, and raisins. Roll it up shortways. Slice into 1 1/4" slices with thread. Put in 9x13" cake pan and cover and let rise till they double in size. (I made mine on Christmas Eve - mid day - and just let them do their rising in the fridge. On Christmas morning, I pulled them out of the fridge for about an hour and then popped them in the oven.) Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes, until brown. Spoon icing over warm rolls. Makes 12-14 rolls.
Notes:
For as long as I can remember we've had Sweet Rolls - these Sweet Rolls - for breakfast on Christmas morning. (Sometimes we'd request them for breakfast on our birthdays, too, and being the amazing mom she is, she'd make them for us.) Since we weren't in Logan for Christmas this year, I took it upon myself to carry on the tradition. I was a little intimidated, mostly because I made some alterations that I had never tried or seen tried before, but in the end they worked out marvelously. Gregg says I can make them whenever I get the hankering. Hopefully for my waistline (maybe not his) that will only be next Christmas.
Updated to add Orange Roll variation - we tried these for Christmas 2013 and they were a hit! I just made one batch of the dough and when it came time to roll it out and fill, I just split it in half using half for cinnamon-raisin-walnut and half for orange (I halved the recipe above for Mel's orange filling/icing and it was perfect for 6 rolls/twists).
Monday, December 23, 2013
Eggnog Coffee Cake Muffins
Source: here
Ingredients:
for the streusel:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
for the muffins:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup eggnog
1 large egg
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
for the eggnog glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons eggnog
Pinch of nutmeg
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners or spray with cooking spray. The recipe makes 10 muffins. (I'm not sure how the original recipe-writer did her math, but I got 13 pretty big muffins out of this recipe.) Set aside.
2. First make the streusel topping. In a small bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the butter and rub together with your fingers until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, combine eggnog, egg, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Don't over mix.
5. Place 1 Tablespoon of muffin batter in each prepared muffin cup. Top with 1 teaspoon of streusel. Add more batter to cover the streusel, about a heaping teaspoon (I added a heaping Tablespoon - if I would have just done a teaspoon it would have made even more than 13 muffins, I'm sure). Top muffins with remaining streusel.
6. Bake muffins for 20 minutes (I might do a little less next time - they seemed a titch tough to me and I think it was because they were slightly overcooked), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let muffins cool to room temperature.
7. While the muffins are cooling, make the eggnog glaze. In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, eggnog, and pinch of nutmeg. Whisk until smooth. Drizzle glaze over the muffins. Serve and enjoy!
Notes:
I've been seeing lots of eggnog muffin recipes pop up on pinterest recently and I've been pinning them all. The other evening my sweet tooth was in serious need of something, well, sweet. I pulled up all my eggnog muffin recipes and this one floated to the top as the winner for the evening. (I commonly make muffins for dessert around here - probably more than for breakfast.) Boy, was it a winner! I like the flavor of eggnog, but I just can't drink more than a tiny juice glass of it (diluted with milk) in a sitting. These muffins weren't overly eggnog-y - they provided just enough eggnog flavor in a form that I can handle eating. And I think they might have been even better the next morning. Try 'em yourself!
 |
| photo credit: Gregg |
Ingredients:
for the streusel:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
for the muffins:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup eggnog
1 large egg
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
for the eggnog glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons eggnog
Pinch of nutmeg
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners or spray with cooking spray. The recipe makes 10 muffins. (I'm not sure how the original recipe-writer did her math, but I got 13 pretty big muffins out of this recipe.) Set aside.
2. First make the streusel topping. In a small bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the butter and rub together with your fingers until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, combine eggnog, egg, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Don't over mix.
5. Place 1 Tablespoon of muffin batter in each prepared muffin cup. Top with 1 teaspoon of streusel. Add more batter to cover the streusel, about a heaping teaspoon (I added a heaping Tablespoon - if I would have just done a teaspoon it would have made even more than 13 muffins, I'm sure). Top muffins with remaining streusel.
6. Bake muffins for 20 minutes (I might do a little less next time - they seemed a titch tough to me and I think it was because they were slightly overcooked), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let muffins cool to room temperature.
7. While the muffins are cooling, make the eggnog glaze. In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, eggnog, and pinch of nutmeg. Whisk until smooth. Drizzle glaze over the muffins. Serve and enjoy!
Notes:
I've been seeing lots of eggnog muffin recipes pop up on pinterest recently and I've been pinning them all. The other evening my sweet tooth was in serious need of something, well, sweet. I pulled up all my eggnog muffin recipes and this one floated to the top as the winner for the evening. (I commonly make muffins for dessert around here - probably more than for breakfast.) Boy, was it a winner! I like the flavor of eggnog, but I just can't drink more than a tiny juice glass of it (diluted with milk) in a sitting. These muffins weren't overly eggnog-y - they provided just enough eggnog flavor in a form that I can handle eating. And I think they might have been even better the next morning. Try 'em yourself!
Monday, December 16, 2013
Creamy Tuscan Pasta Sauce
I made this and served it at Heather's birthday dinner (2013) and it was absolutely wonderful! I put it over mozzarella and spinach ravioli. I used fat free cream cheese and regular milk. It definitely was a big hit!!
From Mel's Kitchen Cafe
YIELD: SERVES
4-6
This would be
delicious with grilled or cooked chicken thrown into the mix. Also, you can use
lowfat cream cheese and lowfat milk; the sauce is more creamy and smooth the
higher fat content you go but I usually stick with 1% milk and less fat cream
cheese and we love it. If you have fresh basil, scrap the dried basil and add
in about 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil at the end of cooking (or do a combination
of dried and fresh for maximum basil flavor). To maximize how quickly this meal
comes together, start the noodles cooking at the same time you start the sauce.
INGREDIENTS
·
4 tablespoons butter
·
4 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed through a garlic press (I used bottled)
·
1/2 tablespoon dried basil (I used fresh and added about 2 T)
·
8 ounces cream cheese, softened and cut into 8 pieces
·
8-ounce jar sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed, drained and chopped
·
2 cups milk
·
6 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about 2 cups) (I had one bag, about 1.5 cups)
·
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (I used white)
·
1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste, if needed
·
Diced fresh tomatoes, fresh basil for topping (optional) (used neither)
DIRECTIONS
1. In a medium pot
or skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about
2 minutes, stirring constantly, taking care not to let the garlic burn. Stir in
the dried basil. Add the cream cheese, stirring with a whisk until the mixture
is smooth. It will look curdled at first, but with constant whisking for 2-3
minutes, it should come together to form a smooth, creamy paste. Stir in the
sun-dried tomatoes.
2. Over medium
heat, add the milk gradually, about 1/4 cup at a time, whisking quickly and
constantly until each addition is incorporated fully into the sauce. Stir in
the Parmesan cheese, pepper and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the
cheese is melted and the sauce is the desired consistency, 5-10 minutes. Serve
over hot, cooked noodles.
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
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