Alfredo Sauce

I did spaghetti sauce yesterday, so I thought to day I would post my other homemade pasta sauce- Alfredo sauce. I used to think I didn't like Alfredo sauce- but I found out really it was Alfredo sauce from a jar that I didn't like. After having it homemade, I realized how much I love it. So, I had to come up with a way to make it. I experimented and adapted some different recipes and this is what I came up with.

Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients

2 cups half and half

2 sticks butter or margarine

8 oz. softened cream cheese

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. pepper

Directions

Melt butter in medium saucepan. Add remaining ingredients. Stir until smooth, then bring to soft boil and cook 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and let thicken. (It will be soupy at first, but will thicken as it cools.) Serve over fettuccine noodles. 

You can also add chicken, vegetables, or whatever you want if you don't want it just plain. Although, it's tasty enough to stand on it's own with the noodles for me. 

Spaghetti Sauce (With Meat)

This is the spaghetti sauce my mom has made since I was a child and has always been one of my favorite foods. My mom never really wrote down her recipe, and I never did until now. I always just watched her make it and then started making it on my own. So, she may add a few different spices, but this is basically it.  

Spaghetti Sauce

 (With Meat)

Ingredients

1.5 lbs lean ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning

¼ tsp. pepper

½ tsp. salt

1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce

1 (6 oz ) can tomato paste

¾ cup water

1 tsp. sugar

Directions

In a Dutch oven or large saucepan, add beef and onion and cook until beef is browned. Drain, then put back into pot. Add the garlic powder, Italian seasoning, pepper, and salt. Cook 5-10 more minutes. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, and sugar and stir well. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve over hot cooked spaghetti noodles. 

If you don't have a fresh onion you can use minced onion. You can also use minced garlic instead  of garlic powder. If you like tomato chunks, you can add a can of diced tomatoes. I have also added green peppers before to make it spicier. It is easily adapted to make however you like. 

Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup

I have been looking for a good, easy chicken noodle soup recipe for a long time. I have not been able to find one that I really thought looked good without having to cook a whole chicken and having to put forth more work that I want to for a weekday meal. So, after looking at some other recipes for inspiration, and coming up with my own ideas, I created this recipe and tried it for the first time today. I'm not one to brag, but this soup turned out so good I cannot call it anything less than amazing. This is a perfect comfort food for a cold winter day.

Simple Chicken Noodle Soup

(Slow Cooker)

Ingredients

4 cups chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 medium onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. parsley

1 tsp. Mrs. Dash seasoning

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 lb. egg noodles

1-2 cups water

Directions

1.     In slow cooker, stir together chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, onion, celery, garlic powder onion powder, parsley, Mrs. Dash, salt, and pepper. Add raw chicken breasts. Cook on high for 4 hours or low 7 hours.

2.     Remove chicken breasts from slow cooker, shred, and return to slow cooker.

3.     Add dry noodles along with 2 cups water to slow cooker and stir in well. Cook one additional hour on high, then serve.

Special Recommendations: For the egg noodles, I like to use Amish-made dried noodles, but any dried egg noodles will work.

You can also use this same recipe but use dried dumplings instead of egg noodles to make chicken and dumplings.

And, if you have time and talent, I guess you could make your own noodles, but don’t ask for my advice on that because that is one thing I have not attempted… yet, anyway. :)

White Chicken Chili

This is my own original recipe for White Chicken Chili, taken from adapting several recipes and adding my own personal touch.

White Chicken Chili  (Slow Cooker)

Ingredients

3 (15 ounce) cans Great Northern, pinto, or cannellini (white kidney) beans, drained (you can use any combination of the 3)

2  cups chopped chicken

1 large onion, chopped

1 ½  cups chopped red, green, and/or yellow sweet pepper

2 fresh jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped

1 package white chili seasoning mix

2 tsp. minced garlic

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

Directions

1. In a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker, stir together the drained beans, chicken, onion,

sweet pepper, jalapeño pepper, seasoning packet, and garlic. Stir in chicken broth.

2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to

5 hours.

3. Thirty minutes before serving, stir in sour cream.

4. Serve. If desired, top each serving with shredded cheese and broken tortilla chips