Sunday, October 24, 2010

An Everyday Alfredo

Realizing how easy it is to make a simple alfredo sauce can open up a lot of options for a fast & easy meal.  You can add this base sauce to any pasta, then add a protein, &/or any vegetable of your choice.  The basics of making an alfredo sauce start by first making a bechamel sauce, which consist of nothing more than 3 ingredients.  More than likely you already have the ingredients to make an alfredo sauce, but if not, they're inexpensive to buy & you'll have plenty left over for next time.

To make a bechamel sauce all you'll need is butter, flour, & milk.  To make that into an alfredo sauce, add parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, & pepper.  For approx. 3 cups of alfredo sauce you'll need 5 tbsp. of butter, 4 tbsp. of all purpose flour, 4 cups of milk, 1/4 cup of parmesan, 1/2 tbsp. of garlic powder, 1/4 tbsp. of both salt & pepper.  Melt the 5 tbsp. of butter on medium-low heat in a sauce pan, then add the 4 tbsp. of flour.  Mix them together until smooth.  Then immediately add the 4 cups of milk in portions, 1 cup at a time.  Turn the heat up to medium-high heat.  Let each cup of milk completely mix into the flour & butter mixture, before adding your next cup of milk.  You should be looking for a smooth, creamy white sauce. Once you've added all 4 cups of milk turn the heat down to medium-low & add the parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt & pepper.  Let the sauce simmer for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Lastly, taste your alfredo sauce to make sure it suites you. 

I couldn't tell you how many times this simple, everyday alfredo sauce has come to my rescue minutes before dinner time.  With pasta also being so inexpensive this alfredo sauce is a great way to make an affordable, restaurant quality dinner in no time.  Like I said before, there are really an endless amount of possibilities you could use this sauce with.  Ideas are coming to you already I bet!  But no worries, if they're not, I've got some for you.  I'll keep you posted... :)  Until then, work on perfecting your own everyday alfredo!

No comments:

Post a Comment