Alfredo sauce

 2 T. butter
1 T. minced garlic
1 T. flour
3/4 c. half and half
1/3 c. parmesan cheese
1/3 c. parsley

Melt butter, saute garlic for l minute.  Remove from heat and add flour.  Remove from heat, add flour, return to heat.  Gradually add milk and stir in cheese and parsley until thick.  Salt and pepper to taste.  

Mary Beth Sierer's Spaghetti Sauce (MB's Sauce)

Brown in 3 T. olive oil and drain when fully cooked: 1 lb. mild Italian sausage 3-5 garlic cloves, peeled and diced 1 lb. super lean ground beef 2 green bell peppers, stemmed and seeds removed and diced 1 large onion, peeled and diced After all the fat from the meat/veggie mixture is removed, add canned goods: 2 (28oz) cans wholed, peeled tomatoes (or chopped fresh) 1 (16oz) can tomato sauce 1 (16oz) can tomato paste 1 (16oz) can tomato puree Season with: 1 c. white sugar 2 T. dried basil 2 bay leaves (remove before serving) 2 T. dried oregano 4 T. dried parsley Simmer for at least 5 hours (7-8 is best) in a crockpot on low heat.

MB's Spaghetti Sauce

 Ingredients:

45 oz can tomatoes (if you use FRESH tomatoes, must place in boiling water & peel off skin before mashing)

28 oz can tomato puree

12 oz can tomato paste

1 Tablespoon dried oregano

1 Tablespoon dried basil

2 bay leaves

1 Tablespoon dried parsley

1 cup sugar (if using FRESH tomatoes, must add 2-3 cups sugar to cut acidic taste)

1 pound 8 links Italian sausage (I buy mild italian sausage at Costco)

2 cloves garlic

1 large Vadalia onion, diced

1 large green pepper, diced

2 Tablespoons olive oil

 

Directions: Add olive oil to deep skillet. Add chopped fresh veggies. Cook until tender--about 5 minutes. Add sausage and cook all the way through. As it's cooking, mash it up with wooden spoon. When cooked, drain in large colander to cut grease. Spray slow cooker with Pam. Pour in sausage-veggie mixture. Add spices, sugar & ALL tomato products. Stir well. Cook for 1 hour on HIGH then turn to low for 5 more hours. Turn off slow cooker & let sauce cool. Serve immediately over homemade fettuccine or linguine garnished with Parmesan with tossed salad & crusty bread. What you don't use can be ladeled into freezer containers to pull out for other pasta meals throughout the month--like lasagna, cannelloni, tortellini, etc.

Marinara Sauce

2 (28-oz.) cans whole tomatoes in juice
1 bunch of fresh basil, stemmed
1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil
2 small onions, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. sugar
salt and freshly ground pepper

In a blender, puree the tomatoes with their juice and the basil until almost smooth.  Set the tomato puree aside.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onions and garlic and saute until very tender, about 12 minutes.  Stir in the tomato puree, oregano and sugar.  Bring to a simmer over med-high heat.  Decrease the heat to medium and continue simmering until the sauce thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.  Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.  Makes 1/1/2 quarts

Adapted from Giada's Family Dinners by Giada de Laurentiis (Clarkson Potter Publishers, 2006) by Williams-Sonoma

Spaghetti--Southwestern Style

1 t. olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
2 c. bottled spaghetti sauce
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 c. frozen corn
1 (4 oz.) can diced, green chilies
2 T. chopped cilantro (if desired)
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/8 t. crushed red pepper
12 ounces of whole wheat spaghetti

Heat olive oil and add chicken and cook about 5 minutes.  Stir in spaghetti sauce, beans, corn, chilies, cilantro, cumin and crushed red pepper.  Heat to boiling.  Reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes.  Cook spaghetti according to pkg directions and spoon sauce over.