Wednesday, November 10, 2010

A Few More Family Favorites...






By: Rebecca Wagner (Pork is actually from Rebecca Rasmussen and lasagna is from our beloved Kamy Cannon who we miss so much! Just thought I should give proper credit...)

Monday, November 8, 2010

Pasta with Pumpkin Alfredo

My sister found this recipe on "Our Best Bites" blog and loved it. I have made it several times, for different people and have gotten great feedback on it. I like it because it's different--when I think pumpkin I think pie, muffins, bread, not alfredo!! I think it's yummy and tastes like fall to me. Also, it's easy, easy, easy. If anyone tries it and likes it, let me know!

1 Package Fresh Pasta
1/2 batch Guiltless Alfredo Sauce(also posted below)
1/2 T real butter
1/4 C Finely minced onion
1/2 C canned pumpkin (try more if you love pumpkin, this is really mild)
2 T Chicken broth (vegetarians substitute milk or veg. broth)
1T chopped fresh sage (1t dried leaves)
1/2 T fresh thyme (1/2 t dried leaves)


Follow instructions on pasta to cook. In a separate sauce pan melt butter on medium heat. When melted, add onion. Make sure your onion is really finely diced. Since you have a nice smooth sauce, you don't want big chunks of onion, you just want little bits.

Saute until soft. Since they're small it should only take a couple of minutes. Add chicken broth and herbs. (I used fresh herbs, but I'm sure dry is great too, just go for leaves as opposed to ground spices so not to muddy the color)

Use a spatula to deglaze the pan a bit and get any cooked bits of onion off the bottom. Add pumpkin and whisk to combine. Add alfredo sauce, stir to combine, and cook until heated through. Depending on the alfredo you use you may need to adjust salt and pepper. Mine didn't need anything added.

Serve on top of prepared pasta and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a sprinkling of extra herbs. Pair it with a salad and breadsticks or a grilled chicken breast. YUM!

Rebecca Rasmussen

Guiltless Alfredo Sauce

I found this recipe on the "our best bites" blog. I like it because it uses low fat cream cheese and flour as thickening agents--not whipped cream so it's not super fattening and it's SO EASY! It's awesome for dipping bread sticks and mixing w/ marinara. But I mostly use it as a base for the Pumpkin Alfredo found on the same blog. It's SUPER
DUPER yummy!

2 C low-fat milk
1/3 C (3 oz) low fat cream cheese
2 T flour
1 t salt
1 T butter
3 garlic cloves
1 C grated Parmesan cheese


Toss the milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt in a blender.
In a non-stick sauce pan, melt butter on med-high heat and add garlic. Let the garlic saute for about 30 seconds, you don't want to burn it.
Then add milk mixture to the pan. Stir constantly for about 3 or 4 minutes or until it just comes to a simmer. Keep stirring and let it cook for a few minutes more. It should be much thicker now.


When it's nice and thickened remove the pan from the heat. Add the cheese, stir it up and then cover immediately. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before using. It will continue to thicken upon standing. Also, if you have leftovers in the fridge, the sauce will thicken almost into a solid. Just re-heat and add a little milk and it will be back to normal again.

Rebecca Rasmussen