Guilt-Free Alfredo Sauce

Maybe I just haven't found the right brand or type of canned bought-from-the-store alfredo sauce, but every kind I've tried just doesn't taste all that good. It's either too strong, too thin, not enough flavor or too "fake" of a flavor. So when I ran across this recipe that was quick, easy, fairly healthy and absolutely delicious, I was thrilled! This sauce is garlicky and flavorful yet has a very light and creamy taste that is perfect over pasta, vegetables or even as a dipping sauce for breadsticks or pizza. It takes about 20 minutes from start to finish so it's ready to go by the time you finish preparing the rest of your meal! Even better, you can make it ahead of time and refrigerate it. When ready to use, just reheat the sauce and add a little milk until the right consistency is reached. It also makes a great freezer meal poured over some pasta with a little diced chicken and vegetables. I've got a big pan in the freezer just waiting to be used after little Grant arrives in the next few days (hopefully!) :) (Recipe and picture from Our Best Bites)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups low-fat milk
• 1/3 cup (3 oz.) low-fat cream cheese
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (pregrated Parmesan cheese still tastes fine, but the sauce will be lumpy)

In a blender (or using an immersion blender), blend the milk, cream cheese, flour and salt until smooth and set aside. In a large, nonstick saucepan, melt the 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 in the cheese and immediately cover the pan. Allow the sauce to stand for at least 10 minutes before using. It will continue to thicken upon standing. Serve immediately.

My favorite way to use this is over some whole wheat pasta with diced chicken, mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes for a little twist on the flavor!

Cranberry-Orange Sauce

There's nothing quite like leftover turkey on a homemade dinner roll slathered with cranberry sauce. Especially this amazing, homemade cranberry-orange sauce with a hint of cinnamon. Mm.. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. This sauce is really easy to make and tastes ten times better than the canned Oceanspray cranberry sauce you can buy year-round. Thanksgiving only comes once a year, so why not take the extra ten minutes to make your own instead of using that awful looking canned sauce that has jellied ridges from the aluminum? 

Honestly though, this sauce really only takes about 10 minutes to throw together! Put in a fancy silver dish on the table and you'll take your turkey to whole new level! (Picture courtesy of This Week for Dinner)

Ingredients:

• 1 12-oz. bag of fresh cranberries
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 orange, roughly chopped

Put all ingredients into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and let it softly simmer for about 10 minutes or until the cranberries begin to burst and release their juices. Sauce will thicken slightly and all of the flavors will meld together to create an amazing tart-sweet flavor! Let cool and serve cold.

Caramelized Onion, Spinach and Mushroom Pizza with Garlic White Sauce

Some of my absolute favorite ingredients all in one combination that just happens to be on a pizza. Oh baby.. Can't get better than this! I loved the sweetness of the caramelized onions combined with the savory garlic white sauce. Add some sauteed sliced mushrooms and fresh spinach to make a beautiful and flavorful pizza! The mushrooms have enough substance to make it very filling so meat isn't necessary. Oh, and if you don't like mushrooms, this probably isn't the pizza for you... Just sayin'.



Ingredients:

Garlic White Sauce:

• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 3 Tbsp. flour
• 1 cup milk
• Herbs such as basil, parsley, and oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste

Toppings:

• 1 large onion sliced thin
• 1 small package cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 bag fresh baby spinach
• 2 cups Fontina cheese, grated (A mozzarella and parmesan mix works great too)

Make the garlic white sauce first. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for three minutes. Whisk in the flour until a roux or paste forms. Slowly add in the milk, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Cook for about 4-5 minutes or until sauce begins to thicken. Add in a pinch of desired herbs and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Place the sliced onions in a saute pan with a couple tablespoons of butter. Stir over medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes or until they become very soft. Add in sliced mushrooms and cook until mushrooms begin to release their juices and the onions begin to take on a caramel color.

Pour the white sauce into the middle of the pizza dough and spread around with a a ladle. Sprinkle on the onions, mushrooms and spinach and top with grated cheese. Bake pizza on a pizza stone in a 500 degree oven for 8 to 13 minutes or until edges are crisp and cheese is golden and bubbly in spots.

CPK's Thai Crunch Salad

A few weeks ago I went to Las Vegas for my company retreat. My mom flew out and met me here and we had a blast going shopping, eating delicious foods, and enjoying the gorgeous sunny weather. One night after a long afternoon of shopping, we stopped in at California Pizza Kitchen for dinner where I had my first experience with their Thai Crunch Salad. I have seriously been craving it ever since then and this week I decided to try and duplicate it at home. The hardest part of this recipe was simply chopping and dicing up all the ingredients for the salad, but grab somebody to help you out and this can be whipped up in no time! Don't be shaken by the long list of ingredients - most of them are common items you'd find in your kitchen and fridge. I loved the comination of flavors from the lime-cilantro dressing, the creamy peanut drizzle, and the fresh cruncy vegetables in every bite. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water again...

Ingredients:

Lime-Cilantro Dressing:

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil


• 2 Tbsp. honey


• 1/4 cup rice vinegar


• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro


• 2 tsp. Dijon mustard


• 2 tsp. lime juice


• 1/4 tsp minced fresh garlic (one clove)


• 1/2 tsp. salt


• 1/4 tsp. black pepper

Spicy Peanut Sauce:

• 2 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter


• 2 Tbsp. hoisin sauce


• 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar


• 1 Tbsp. honey


• 2 Tbsp. water


• 1 1/2 tsp. soy sauce


• 1/2 tsp. minced ginger


• 1 Tbsp. chili sauce


• Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

Salad:

• 1-2 cups chopped red cabbage


• 2 large carrots, chopped and julienned


• 2 cups shelled edamame


• 1 cup peanuts


• 2-3 green onions, chopped


• 1 small cucumber, peeled and diced (optional)


• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped


• 1 cup rice sticks (found in the Asian section of the grocery store)


• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into thin slices


• 1 bag salad - any variety


• 1 cup spinach

Lime-Cilantro Dressing: Put all items in a food processor and mix until combined. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve.

Spicy Peanut Sauce: Put all items in a food processor and mix until combined. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve.

Salad: Place all salad ingredients into a large bowl. Pour the lime-cilantro dressing over the entire salad and mix or shake to combine. Drizzle spicy peanut sauce over the top and serve immediately.

Homemade Buttermilk Syrup

I'm not sure if I will ever be able to go back to buying regular syrup at the grocery store anymore. This stuff is incredibly delicious and very evil... This is more of a caramel based syrup rather than maple so you can use it on anything: waffles, pancakes, ice cream, or just eat it with a spoon like I do! I stumbled across this recipe one day when I made waffles for breakfast, went to the pantry to grab my syrup, and realized there was only about 1 tablespoon left in the bottle. Now, if you know me at all, you know that I have to have a lot of syrup with my waffles. This wouldn't even be enough to cover half of my waffle, let alone begin to touch my husband's. This was just a little problem.. Thank goodness for Our Best Bites who had this sinfully delicious recipe that went above and beyond solving my syrup problem. My next syrup project is to try it over a chocolate waffle with ice cream.. Mmm... (Recipe and picture courtesy of Our Best Bites.)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c. buttermilk*


• 1 1/2 c. sugar


• 1 stick butter


• 2 Tbsp. corn syrup


• 1 tsp. baking soda


• 1 tsp. vanilla

Combine buttermilk, sugar, butter, corn syrup and baking soda together in a LARGE pot. Bring ingredients to a boil and reduce heat to low (needs to still be bubbling). Cook, stirring very frequently, for 8 - 9 minutes. When it's down, it should turn a light golden color. Remove from heat and add vanilla. There will be a thin layer of foam on top. It tastes great, but you can remove it if you'd like by spooning it off the top. Use while it's still warm, or store it in the fridge until ready to use.

*I never have buttermilk on hand for any of my recipes, so I use the following trick: Mix together 1 Tbsp. lemon juice OR white vinegar and enough milk to make 1 cup. Let it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes or until the milk begins to curdle. Yay for easy buttermilk!

Creamy Cilantro Dressing

This is my favorite salad dressing of all-time. For those of you who live in the Western United States, you may have heard of a small chain-restaurant called "Cafe Rio." They serve the most incredible salad I have ever had in my life. And the dressing? Well I could seriously drink it straight from the cup rather than pour it on my salad. It's that good. I'm not exactly sure where I found this recipe, but it definitely satisfies my cravings when I'm away from Utah for a few months. It is thick and creamy with a fresh cilantro bite that is perfect over any green salad you have in mind. It's quick and easy to throw together and it stores for up to a week in the fridge. It even has this incredible milky-green color that makes for a beautiful presentation. (Picture courtesy of Our Best Bites)

Ingredients:

• 1 packet traditional Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix
• 1 c. mayonnaise
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 2 tomatillos, remove husk, diced
• 1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro, lightly chopped
• 1 clove garlic
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 jalapeno, chopped and seeded (optional)

Pour all ingredients into a blender and mix for about one minute, or until thoroughly blended.

Note: I never actually buy buttermilk from the store so if you don't have it on-hand, simply put 1 Tbsp. lemon juice or white vinegar in a bowl and pour in enough milk to equal 1 cup. Let it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes until it begins to get a little chunky on the top and pour into ingredients.

I always find tomatillos in the fresh produce section either by the tomatoes or by the spicy peppers like jalapenos and habaneros.