Super Easy Alfredo Sauce

1 stick butter

1 8 oz package cream cheese

1/2 cup milk

melt all ingredients together

I usually have t0 help quite a bit with the cream cheese (with a wisk) you don’t want to bring this to a boil or anything, just get the cream cheese melted enough to incorporate with the butter and milk, once that is done, remove it from the heat and add 3/4 cup of parmesan cheese. I usually just use the grated parmesan cheese that we shake on spaghetti, because I don’t think ahead enough to have fresh. Although I’m sure it would be so much better with fresh!!!

This is delicious on pasta with chicken but also wonderful to dip breadsticks in! or maybe even as a white sauce for pizza!!

au gratin potatoes

8-10 medium potatoes

1 lb of cheese

1 stick butter

1/2 cup flour

2 1/2 cups of milk

garlic powder

salt

pepper

directions:

Wash potatoes and put in a large pot. fill with water to just covering all potatoes. turn on hi. boil until potatoes are soft enough to pierce with a fork easily.

pour off hot water and fill with cold water to cool potatoes down. I sometimes do this twice to hurry the process along.

using a regular table knife gently peel off the peels of the potatoes and then dice the potatoes into bite-sized pieces. place in a large bowl or casserole dish.

Dice the cheese into small cubes. add to potatoes

to make the white sauce start by melting the butter in a saucepan. as soon as it is melted add the one-half cup of flour and stir quickly. once the flour is completely mixed with the butter add the milk and whisk it well. stir constantly over medium heat adding garlic, salt, and pepper to taste. when the sauce is thickened, pour it over the potatoes and stir. sometimes I put the bowl in the oven again to melt the cheese, but sometimes the hot sauce does the job nicely.

I usually dice the cheese while the potatoes are boiling. also, when making the white sauce I try to have all of my supplies right there such as the whisk, wooden spoon, milk, flour, salt pepper, and garlic so that I don’t risk having to leave the sauce to fetch an ingredient.

Dinner Rolls

So these famous dinner rolls that mom made don’t really have specific measurements.  I will write up the instructions as I know them, but just know that if you remember differently it is probably also right.

 

Scald 2 cups of milk.  (cook on the stove until a slight skin forms on top of it.  Also, you can look to the sides for small bubbles.)  Pour over 1 stick of butter and allow the  milk to melt the butter.

Add 2 eggs and about 1/3 cup of sugar.   Stir well.   In a small bowl put about 1/2 cup of warm water.  Stir in 2 packets of yeast and allow it to sit for a minute.  While the yeast is “growing”  add about 2 to 3 cups of flour to your milk mixture and stir well.  Before the mixture is too thick go ahead and add the yeast mixture and mix well.  Now start adding flour one cup at a time until it is difficult to stir with the spoon.  At this point I put flour on my hand and a little more in the bowl and begin to knead the bread by hand until it is the desired thickness.  It should be a little bit sticky, but not too sticky to handle.  the amount of flour you add might be as little as 4 more cups, but as much as 6 more.  (since i never measure the milk or the water, that is what makes the difference for me.  so if you measure carefully, it should be a total of 6 cups of flour.  but you will learn as you go)

Once you can pick up the ball of bread take it out of the bowl and put it in a slightly oiled bowl to rise.  (I usually set it aside and wash out the bowl i made it in, then oil that bowl and use it again.)

After about an hour the dough will have doubled in size and you can form it into rolls, loaves, hamburger buns, or whatever you want.  i do this by shaping the item, then dipping in butter and turning into a pan.

Allow to rise again for a while.  Then bake at 375 until golden brown.

 

Good luck and feel free to post pictures or questions and we can refine these recipes!