Heart Attack Alfredo Sauce

So I love Italian food. I've never made Alfredo sauce before so this was a new adventure. I didn't realize how bad Alfredo sauce was for you until I made it myself. Don't get me wrong, the flavor is totally worth the years it will take off your life. I wouldn't recommend eating this on a regular basis, unless you were participating in a run for a cure (for rabies).


Ingredients:

1/2 cup sweet butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese

 
Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium/low heat.

Add the garlic, cream, white pepper and bring mixture to a simmer. Stir often.

Add the Parmesan cheese and simmer sauce for 8-10 minutes or until sauce has thickened and is smooth.

When sauce has thickened add the Mozzarella cheese and stir until smooth. STIR FREQUENTLY.

While the sauce cooks, boil noodles for 3-5 minutes. Place pasta on serving plates and spoon sauce over pasta.

Whats the best way to make something taste better?..... Bacon, Classy!

 

Potato and Goat Cheese Gratin

I love cheese, I love potatoes... potato and goat cheese gratin seemed like the best thing for me. I was right, it was delicious and pretty easy to make. The goat cheese is a little expensive but totally worth it.  Pray that you have a potato slicer (not a potato peeler, but to cut potatoes into thin coins), I didn't have one so I had to use a knife to slice the potatoes.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch slices
1 teaspoon minced garlic
5 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 pound of Italian Sausage 
1 teaspoon of Thyme
1 teaspoon of bay leaves


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease the bottom and sides of a 1 1/2-quart gratin dish with the butter.

Make a layer of overlapping potato slices on the bottom of the dish and sprinkle with half of the garlic and 1/3 of the goat cheese. Season with salt, pepper, thyme and bay leaves. Repeat with another layer of potatoes, the remaining garlic, another 1/3 of the cheese, and season with salt and pepper. Finish with a final layer of potatoes and the remaining cheese and season with salt and pepper. On the second layer I added some cooked Italian sausage. Pour the heavy cream over the top of the potatoes and, using your hands, press to condense the layers slightly. Make sure the potatoes are all covered with cream.

Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until the gratin is bubbly and golden brown on top and the potatoes are cooked through. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

These turned out very good. I would recommend eating this with some delicious ham. Unfortunately I didn't have any delicious ham but it was still very good to eat. It typically doesn't call for Italian sausage but I had some left over so I decided to put some in. The only thing that I would have done different is put more salt on the layers.

It snowed pretty hard all day today.... booooo

Chili

It's starting to get even colder in Rexburg. Carly wanted me to make chili a couple of weeks ago but I didn't so I decided to appease her and make some amazing chili. The recipe I used didn't call for beans, next time I think I'll throw some pinto bean in, because I love beans. It was very flavorful and delicious without the beans, so no worries. Another thing, this recipe calls for beer, I used non-alcoholic beer. If even non-alcoholic beer offends you.... don't put it in, but don't blame me if it doesn't taste amazing, you big baby.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lb. lean chuck, ground
1 lb. lean pork, ground
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cup finely chopped onion
8 oz. hunt's tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 can beer (12 oz.)
3 Tablespoons chili powder
2 Tablespoons instant beef bouillon (or 6 cubes)
2 Tablespoons cumin, ground
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons oregano leaves
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon coriander, ground
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon louisiana hot sauce
1 teaspoon cornmeal
1 teaspoon flour
1 teaspoon warm water

1. In a large saucepan brown 1 1/4 pounds of the ground meat (the beef and the pork), drain the fat.
2. Remove meat (the beef and the pork). Brown the rest of the ground meat, drain all but 2 tablespoons of the fat.
3. Add the garlic and onion, cook and stir until tender.
4. Add the other half of the meat and the tomato sauce, water, beer, chili powder, bouillon, cumin, paprika, oregano, sugar, coriander, cocoa, and hot sauce. Mix well.
5. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, covered , for 2 hours.
6. In a small bowl, stir together the cornmeal and flour, then add the warm water and mix well.
7. Stir into chili and cook, covered, for an additional 20 minutes.

Side note: A way to save time is to put all the dry ingredients together in a bowl and the liquid ingredients together in another bowl. That way you don't have to rush measuring everything right before you put it in. 

 

Meatballs

This week I decided to try something I'm very unfamiliar with. I love to eat meatball sandwiches but I've never made them nor have I ever had spaghetti and meatballs. This is a delicious recipe. Not only are they great on pasta but they are great for leftovers.... especially meatball subs.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1/3 plain bread crumbs
1/2 cup milk (can substitute water or beef broth)
1 diced onion
2 tbl olive oil
3 cloves crushed garlic
2 eggs
1/4 bunch fresh parsley
2 tbl grated parmesan cheese
2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp red cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried Italian Seasonings


Mix together bread crumbs and milk, let sit for 20 minutes until it becomes a paste. While waiting for the paste to form, saute the onions in the olive oil. Mix together both the meats. When the onions are done let them cool then add all ingredients together and mix. Cover mix with plastic and put in the refrigerator for an hour. Take out of refrigerator and form balls to liking. I found the perfect size are a little larger than a golf ball. Put the balls onto a cookie sheet covered in tin foil and lightly oiled.  Place the meatballs in the oven at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until browned. Place meatballs and drippings in delicious spaghetti sauce and let simmer on low for 1-2 hours. 

Milk and bread crumb mix

 

Our Neighbors Brianne and Brandon enjoyed the meatballs

Baked Potato Soup

It snowed this week so I decided to make something warm and delicious. In my later years of adolescence my Mom started make a potato soup that I really enjoyed. Its probably the thing that I liked the most that she made. With the weather being so cold, this would be the perfect thing to make.
Although this recipe may look complicated, really it isn't and its totally worth making... make it now or regret it later!

Ingredients:

5 med potatoes

3tbs butter

1 cup diced white onion

2tbs flour

4 cups chicken stock

2 cups water

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 1/2 cups instant mashed potatoes

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp pepper

1/2tsp basil

1/8 tsp thyme

1 cup half and half 

1.  preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake the potatoes for 1 hour or until done ( when potatoes are done remove them from the oven to cool

2.  melt butter in a large sauce pan and saute onion until light brown.  Add the flour to the onions and stir to make a roux. (means brown it slightly)

3.  Add stock, water, cornstarch, mashed potatoes and spices to the pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes (watch that bottom doesn't burn)

4.  Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out contents with a large spoon.  Discard skin, chop baked potato with a large knife to make shunks that are about 1/2 inch in size

5. add chopped baked potato and half and half (or milk) to the saucepan, bring soup back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer the soup for another 15 minutes or until it is thick. (stir often so bottom doesn't burn)

Nick and Staci loved the deliciousness