Rich and Creamy Alfredo Sauce

1/2 cup butter (not margarine)

1 8 oz block of cream cheese 

2 tsp garlic powder

2 cups milk

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp black pepper

In a large sauce pan, melt butter. Add cream cheese over med heat and whisk until melted and smooth. Add milk and whisk again until smooth. Add garlic, parmesan cheese and pepper and stir well. Serve over noodles.

Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce

Usually when we go out to a Mexican resturant for dinner, more times than not, I'll order enchiladas. They are by far my favortie. Mostly for the sauce, I love resturant enchilada sauce so much more than the canned stuff! I had never tried making it homemade, but after researching a little I decided it didn't look too hard, and it wasn't! In fact, I may never use canned again!

 

recipe adapted from Budget Bytes

 

 1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup chili powder

4 cups chicken broth (or water)

6 oz can of tomato paste

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp salt

1 TBS franks red hot sauce (optional)

 

Add the vegetable oil, flour, and chili powder to a medium pot. Turn the heat on to medium and whisk the ingredients together. Continue to whisk as the mixture begins to bubble. Whisk and cook the mixture for one minute once it begins bubbling.

After one minute, whisk in the broth, tomato paste, cumin, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper until smooth. Allow the sauce to come up to a simmer. Once it reaches a simmer it will begin to thicken slightly.

Starting with a 1/2 teaspoon, add salt to taste. The sauce is now ready to use!
 

I used this sauce over Sweet Corn and Chicken Enchiladas (recipe to come), but you can use it over anything! Burritos, Chimichangas, salads... the options are endless!


Freezer Spaghetti Sauce

I am just full of freezer recipe's lately, aren't I!? It's because it is starting to get warm here in southern Utah, and I want as many quick, los-stress as I can get! This spaghetti sauce is perfect for a superfast dinner, is chock full of veggies and has a lot less sugar/preservatives than the jarred kind!

Freezer Spaghetti sauce

makes around 6-8 cups

29 oz. tomato pureee

20 oz. crushed tomatoes

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp italian seasoning

1 tsp onion powder

2 TB sugar

3 TB parmesan cheese (the cheap-fridge kind)

1 bell pepper

3 large mushrooms

In a large pot, add all tomatoes, and seasonings. Turn on to med-low and bring to a simmer. In a food processor, finely dice/puree the mushrooms and bell pepper, you can add any other veggies you want (carrots, onion, zucchini, etc) Add the veggies to the tomatoes and continue to simmer for at least 30 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened to your family's liking.

To freeze, cool sauce, and add 2 cup portions into freezer sandwich baggies, until all sauce is used. Lay filled baggies flat on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Once frozen you can store them upright.

EASY Creamy Pesto

For our first dinner date, my future hubby took me to the Pasta Factory. I remember exactly what I got.

Bowtie Pasta with Creamy Pesto.

Since then, I've always had a soft spot for Creamy Pesto!

Now I'm sure that the Pasta Factory puts a little more time into their pesto, but this is a quick 5 minute version!

 For about 2 people you need:

1/4 cup prepared Pesto sauce (I use the Knorr package)

1 cup Alfredo Sauce (I used Ragu Alfredo)

1/2 box cooked pasta (I used Linguine)

After preparing your pesto, or warming it if it's premade, add your alfredo and heat through. Serve over cooked pasta.

Wingers Sticky Finger Quesedilla {Copycat}

My Hubby and I LOVE Wingers! We have been going there since we stated dating, actually he started going there long before that! Him and his buddies would flirt with the waitresses to get free asphalt pie :) (He's lucky I came along:) flirting for pie... how embarrassing) Anyways he gets the same thing pretty much EVERY time we go there. the Sticky Finger Quesedilla. So when I found the recipe online and made it for him, he was on cloud 9!

(The sauce recipe is everywhere online, this was the recipe I used for reference, but I tweaked it to fit our tastes)

Wingers Sticky Finger Quesedilla

Sauce:1/3 c. +2 TBS Franks Hot Sauce

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 tsp white vinegar (this cuts the sweetness. just do it. trust me.)

Heat the Hot sauce, brown sugar to a boil and remove from heat, it will thicken as it cools. Add vinegar last and mix well.

Quesedilla:

flour tortillas

Tyson popcorn chicken

The sauce you made :)

cheddar cheese

ranch dressing

After baking the popcorn chicken (dont microwave it, it'll be soggy) drizzle the sauce over the chicken and toss to coat. cover the tortilla with cheese, add you chicken, top with more cheese and then the other tortilla. place onto a hot griddle until cheese is melted and both sides are browned! For YUMMY dipping sauce, mix a little of the wingers sauce with ranch! DIP, and ENJOY!

Red Hot Chicken Po-Boy

This sandwich is SO simple... but it is SOO SOO yummy! THe sauce totally makes it, and you can add more/less hotsauce to adjust the heat level to your liking!

You need...

Cooked Popcorn Chicken (just the tyson kind, about 6-7 large peices)

1 crusty roll

shredded cabbage

lettuce

1tsp Franks Hot Sause

1TBS Miracle Whip

Mix the mayo and hot sauce in a small bowl and spread generously on the insides of the roll. Add chicken, cabbage and lettuce and DEVOUR!

Quick and Easy Tartar Sauce

(not my photo... got it off google, and now I cant find it again to site it)
The other night we went to Red Lobster for dinner. We had
lots of leftovers which we took home, and wouldnt you know it... our tartar
sauce had been expired for almost 6 months. So... I made some! I had all the
ingredients at my house, so it was really easy!

1/2 cup Miracle Whip
3 TBS sweet relish
1/4 tsp lime juice (or lemon, whatever you have)
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1 tsp onion flakes

Mix and let it set in the fridge until you need it. Overnight is best, but you can eat it right away.