There is nothing better, in my humble opinion, than a plate full of creamy pasta. Marinara is a great sauce, but there’s something so deliciously sinful about Alfredo that I gleefully shove my guilt down deep. When I eat Alfredo, I tell myself I’ll worry about my hips tomorrow. 

While I sit here and wax poetic about Alfredo sauce, I have a confession to make. I never make it at home. Maybe because, until now, I’ve never found a recipe that was as simple and delicious as the one submitted by TK member asweetpeachef (Lacey). When I came across her recipe for Garlic Alfredo Sauce, I was immediately intrigued. With cream cheese, garlic and just a few other simple ingredients, this was definitely my kind of recipe.

This sauce is so creamy and rich, you’ll be eating spoonfuls before you even get to slather your pasta with it. I’m glad to say this Alfredo sauce will be a staple at my house from now on.

Gather some butter, garlic cloves, cream cheese, milk, and parmesan and you’re just about set. Don’t forget a little salt and pepper, too.

First, mince 3 garlic cloves.

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a medium, nonstick saucepan over medium heat.

Add the minced garlic and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the cream cheese, stirring with a whisk until smooth.

Add the milk, a little at a time, whisking until smooth.

Stir in the parmesan…

..and the pepper. Season with salt if needed. 

Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. The sauce will thicken quickly.

Pour over a plateful of your favorite pasta, and you have a quick and delicious meal that even the pickiest eater will devour. Alternatively, just eat spoonfuls straight out of the pan. 

Thank you so much Lacey for sharing this wonderful recipe, I can’t wait to try it over some stuffed ravioli or tortellini! Lacey is a talented professional chef, along with being a busy wife and mother. Fore more inspiration, you can find many other delicious looking recipes on Lacey’s site A Sweet Pea Chef.

Printable Recipe

Garlic Alfredo Sauce

by Lacey Baier of A Sweet Pea Chef on January 24, 2011 in Condiments, Sauces January 24, 2011 CondimentsSauces

See post on Lacey Baier of A Sweet Pea Chef’s site!

5.00 Mitt(s) 11 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 10 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4

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It’s really a shame more people I meet don’t know how to make Alfredo Sauce, since it is one of the easiest, most flavorful sauces I make.

Ingredients

• 4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
• 3 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced
• ½ packages (8 Oz. Package) Cream Cheese, Softened And Cut Into 1/2-inch Cubes
• 1 cup Milk
• 3 ounces, weight Parmesan Cheese, Grated
• ½ teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
• 1 pinch Kosher Salt To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Melt butter in a medium, nonstick saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add cream cheese, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking until smooth. Stir in parmesan and pepper. Season with kosher salt, if needed. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken quickly.

Enjoy!

 
 
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Amber is a stay at home mom who lives in the heart of the Missouri Ozarks. It’s a long way from where she grew up, in Wales (yes, way over in the U.K.). The recipes in her blog Sprinkled with Flour include her original creations as well as her family recipes. Go check them out!

 
I love recipes that expand my horizons. This Spicy Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup from Jackie Dodd, for example, is not something that I would normally make on my own. But her recipe looked to enticing that I had to give it a try. Plus there’s a grocery store near me that offers up things like lemongrass and Thai chili, and that sealed the deal.

You’ll need: shrimp, chicken stock, basil, Thai chili, coconut milk, lemon, lemongrass, butter, ginger, garlic, and fish sauce.

Start by removing the outer layers of the lemon grass and slicing it.

Melt some butter or oil or margarine in a pot until it bubbles.

Next slice your chiles. These are green chiles because that is what I could find but Jackie suggests red chiles which are equally wonderful, I’m sure. Depending on your tolerance for heat, you’ll probably want to remove the seeds from these before chopping and adding them to the pot. And be sure not to touch your eyes for a long while afterward and give your hands a good wash. Since I love things super spicy, I left the seeds in. I was testing fate.

Saute it all together in the butter.

Then mince your garlic and ginger. You could leave the garlic a little chunky if you want as well, it adds some texture.

Saute that for a few minutes as well.

Next pour in the stock and simmer for a few minutes.

Then add the coconut milk and simmer for a few minutes more.

Then squeeze a bit of lemon juice for some tang. You can also add some fish sauce here if you’d like. I skipped that step but it would add another dimension of flavor.

Toward the end you’ll add the basil. Tear it up into various sized pieces.

Toss it in and let it stew for a few minutes.

Then toss in the peeled rinsed shrimp.

They will only need a few minutes to cook. In fact, you can turn off the heat shortly after you put them in and let the flavors meld as the shrimp finishes cooking.

This is a magical soup. It is so quick to make and it is refreshing to work with these light and tangy flavors. Thanks so much to Jackie for this recipe! Be sure to check out her website, Domestic Fits, for other delicious concoctions.

Printable Recipe

Spicy Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup

by Jackie Dodd on January 11, 2012 in Brothy Soups, Soups January 11, 2012 Brothy SoupsSoups

See post on Jackie Dodd’s site!

4.00 Mitt(s) 1 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 15 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4

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A warm and delicious soup that is full of immune boosters to help you get through the winter.

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons Smart Balance Light Margarine
• 2 teaspoons Chopped Thai Red Chili, Seeds Removed
• 2 Tablespoons Fresh Lemongrass, Chopped
• 6 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 Tablespoon Ginger, Peeled And Minced
• 5 cups Fat Free, Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• 2 cans (13.5 Oz. Size) Light Coconut Milk
• 3 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
• 2 teaspoons Black Pepper
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
• 8 whole Basil Leaves, Chopped Into Ribbons
• 16 whole Large Shrimp, Raw, Peeled And Deveined, Tails Off (can Substitute 1 Cup, Chopped Raw Chicken)

Preparation Instructions

In a large pot over medium-high heat, melt the margarine. Add the chili and the lemongrass and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and the ginger. Stir frequently until you can smell the garlic, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth and coconut milk and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients and cook until the shrimp is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning to your personal preference.

 
 
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There’s so much to say about Georgia, we don’t know where to start. Leaving Wall Street for the French Culinary Institute, followed by a stint at the Gramercy Tavern and La Chassagnette in France, her passion for food and food traditions are evident and inspiring. Visit her site at Georgia Pellegrini, where you’ll find more recipes, photos, learn all about her wonderful books Girl Hunter and Food Heroes, and enjoy her latest adventures.

 
Trying to manage a balanced diet is difficult for me. One of the hardest things is to make sure I’m getting enough healthy protein. During a busy day, carbs are usually the quick go-to meal for me, but I’ve found when I focus on getting more good protein during the day I function much better, physically and mentally. I feel more even keel, if you know what I mean.

Enter the frittata. A frittata is a great meal option for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It’s quick like an omelet, and much lighter than its cousin the quiche. And like an omelet or quiche, the frittata flavor combinations are endless. It’s the perfect “clean out the fridge” meal.

For this version I had cheeseburger on the brain, so a Cheeseburger Frittata it was. I added browned ground beef, cheddar, and sautéed onions, but like any burger, build it like you want. Add some bacon, substitute a different cheese, or maybe mushrooms? Yum, mushrooms would be mighty nice.

Also, while a frittata is usually made stovetop in a skillet then finished under the broiler, I baked this one in a pie pan for the whole cook time. I found it gave a lighter texture, and it was easier, no fuss.

Take a second to assess your fridge, see what you have on hand and let’s make a frittata. Let me show you how I made this one.

You’ll need eggs, a little milk, cheese (I used cheddar), browned ground beef, sautéed onions, and seasonings. I used salt, pepper and garlic powder (our favorite hamburger addition). Pretty simple stuff.

Begin by cracking the eggs into a large bowl.

Next add the milk, half of the cheese, and 1/4 teaspoon of each of the seasonings. Beat all together until combined well.

In a pie pan coated well with butter or cooking spray, layer the browned ground beef and sautéed onions. Note: I used a 10″ pie pan, but a 9″ deep dish pie pan would work nicely here and give you a thicker frittata, too. Remember to adjust cook time for different sized dishes.

Pour the egg mixture over the ground beef and onions.

Spread the remaining cheese evenly over the top.

Bake in a 400°F oven for about 15-20 minutes until center is set. Oven temperatures vary so be careful and watch for overcooking.

Slice a piece and serve with a side of fruit for breakfast, or with a salad and/or soup for lunch or dinner. Frittata is flexible like that. Enjoy!

If you have any other frittata combos, please share below in the comments. I’m in a frittata-making mode right now.

Printable Recipe

Cheeseburger Frittata

by missamy on January 10, 2012 in Main Courses January 10, 2012 Main Courses

See post on missamy’s site!

4.25 Mitt(s) 8 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 8

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A simple Cheeseburger Frittata for a quick, low-carb cheeseburger meal.

Ingredients

• 1 pound Ground Beef
• ¼ teaspoons Plus Two Dashes Of Salt, Divided
• ¼ teaspoons Plus Two Dashes Of Pepper, Divided
• ¼ teaspoons Plus Two Dashes Of Garlic Powder, Divided
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 whole Medium-large Onion, Chopped
• 10 whole Large Eggs
• 3 Tablespoons Milk
• 4 ounces, weight Cheddar Cheese, Shredded, Divided
• Optional Additions: Bacon, Sautéed Mushroom, Sliced/diced Tomatoes

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 F.

I used a 10″ pie pan for this recipe, but a 9″ deep dish should work as well. Grease it with some butter or spray it with cooking spray.

Brown the beef in a skillet over medium heat with a dash of salt, pepper and garlic powder.

In another skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat and sauté onion with a dash of salt and pepper. Saute until onions are translucent.

Beat together eggs, milk, 1/2 of the shredded cheddar cheese and 1/4 teaspoon of salt pepper and garlic powder.

Evenly distribute the browned hamburger on the bottom of the pie pan then top it with the sautéed onions.

Pour the egg mixture over the top of the hamburger and onion. Top that with the remaining cheese.

Bake at 400 F for 15-20 minutes until set. (I used a 10″ pie pan, so adjust cooking time accordingly for a different size of pan.)

 
 
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Amy Johnson is a blogger who writes about food, travel, the home (both inside and out), and various observations and random musings about anything and everything. Visit her blog She Wears Many Hats for a dose of deliciousness, practicality, hilarity, or just plain fun. She lives in South Carolina with her husband and two children.

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