Lighter Alfredo Sauce

Original Recipe HERE

 

No, please keep reading.  "Lighter" and "alfredo" can go hand-in-hand, it seems.  I was shocked, too.

The nasty sludge in a jar keeps me from eating alfredo often, but I love me some awesome alfredo, pasta, and vegetables.  Bonus points if some bacon is thrown in.  So I was excited to have success with this recipe, and I've made it many times.  It makes more than enough to feed dinner to our family of five, and we have leftovers.  Also, the recipe is easy to cut in half, so...yay for portion control.  Because I would probably eat an entire saucepot of this on my own.

 

I keep meaning to add some tomato paste or other such product to see if I can achieve a slight cheesy vodka sauce result.  Also, the alfredo will thicken in the fridge, so adding milk and/or reheating it slowly (stovetop or mixed into an oven meal) will give the best next-day results.

 

Ingredients

2 cups low-fat milk [I use skim]
1/3 cups (3 oz) low-fat cream cheese
2 to 3 Tablespoons white flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon butter
2 to 3 garlic cloves
1 cups grated Parmesan cheese

 

Directions

(1) Put milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt in a blender (I used the Magic Bullet); blend until smooth.

(2) In medium saucepan on medium-high heat, melt butter.  Add garlic; saute about one minute or until slightly golden brown (do not allow to burn).

(3) Add blender mixture to pan.  Stir frequently, 3 to 4 minutes, or until it just begins to simmer.

(4) Cook several more minutes, stirring often, until thickened.  Be sure none is sticking to bottom of pan.

(5) Remove pan from heat.  Add Parmesan; stir.  Cover pot immediately; let stand at least 10 minutes to continue to thicken.  Add additional seasoning if desired.

 

Kid Participation: None.

Pastitsio

Original Recipe HERE

Upon googling, I learned that this recipe isn't the brainchild of San Giorgio (which had included the recipe on the back of the mini shells box and inspired me mid-grocery run to get the rest of the necessary ingredients).  That doesn't dampen my enthusiasm for this well-known, common-in-several-culinary-regions dish, though.  And anyway, if I go the lazy route and use alfredo instead of bechamel or a white sauce, and I substitute chopped veggies for the meat, can it really even be called pastitsio anymore?

Because I am cutting back on our meat consumption (shh, don't tell Husband...waiting for him to complain before I explain it), next time I will use more vegetables to add bulk and texture to the tomato sauce layer.  This recipe made "nine 1-cup servings" so I thought it would save me from having to make dinner the next night.  However, the meal made as directed below led *J* to request four servings and *N* three. I don't know the last time that happened. And *N* asked me when I was going to make it again. Husband took leftovers for lunch the next day. All in all, high praise for the pastitsio.

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef [I used chicken]

1 cup chopped onion

1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce

1 can (6 oz) tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 box (16 oz) pasta [anything non-noodle should work]

1 jar (16 oz) alfredo sauce

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

(1) Heat oven to 400°F.  Begin heating water to boil pasta.

(2) In large skillet over medium heat, cook meat and onion until meat is thoroughly cooked and onion is tender.

(3) Stir in tomato sauce, tomato paste, salt and cinnamon; heat to boiling.

(4) Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes.

(5) Meanwhile, cook pasta until al dente (mine took 9 minutes); drain.

(6) Toss hot pasta with Alfredo sauce.

(7) In 13x9x2" baking dish, spoon half the pasta mixture.  Spread meat mixture evenly over pasta. Spoon remaining pasta evenly over meat mixture.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

(8) Cover with foil; bake 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Kid Participation:

* Spread layers in dish

* Sprinkle parmesan
* Eat enormous quantities