Easy Alfredo Sauce

Alfredo may not be the healthiest choice, but if you are in the mood to indulge this is the recipe for you! I served it over pasta with chicken and broccoli and the family gobbled it up. This is the easiest alfredo sauce recipe I've ever seen, and it tasted great. They are all handy ingredients as well!

INGREDIENTS:

* 1/2 cup butter
* 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
* 2 teaspoons garlic powder
* 2 cups milk
* 6 oz grated Parmesan cheese
* 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper


DIRECTIONS:

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add cream cheese and garlic powder, stirring until smooth.
3. Add milk, whisking to smooth lumps. Stir in Parmesan and pepper. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. If it is too thick you can add a little milk.
4. Toss with hot pasta to serve.

Note: This makes a LOT of sauce. To serve a family of 4, you could easily cut the recipe in half.

Pesto Sauce

A family favorite for years and years has been fresh pesto. We use it as a sauce over pasta as well as on our pizza crust or to make some great pesto and cheese breadsticks. We always have a big pesto-making day every year in my family so that we have enough to freeze for the whole year (tip: use ice cube trays for perfect serving sizes!). My family introduced Brad to pesto and it has become one of his all time favorites. So last week he was dying to make a fresh batch from the basil in our garden. We used lemon basil, instead of regular basil, for the first time which gave it a really savory flavor! I would definitely use it again! We had it over spagetti with a side of asparagus and everyone cleaned their plates, even the kids!

INGREDIENTS:

* 2 cups fresh basil, lightly packed

* 1 cup olive oil

* 1 cup Parmesan cheese

* 2 cloves fresh garlic

* 1 tsp salt

* dash of nutmeg

* 1/2 cup pine nuts (or almonds, walnuts, or pistachios)

DIRECTIONS:

Blend all ingredients in blender or food processor until smooth. Mix well before serving. Makes approx. 1 1/2 cups (for 1 lb pasta)