Pasta Alfredo

The sauce has a bit of a nutty flavor from the nutmeg, a bit of tangy flavor from the lemon, and combined with the other ingredients is a filling main dish "comfort" food.

 Ingredients:
 (Start cooking both pasta and sauce on separate burners at the same time)

• 16 oz pkg of bow tie pasta

Cook to Al dente (usually 2 minutes less than indicated on the package) in boiling salted water, drain.

Alfredo Sauce:

3/4 cup half and half 

3/4 cream cheese

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp. garlic

1/2 tsp of garlic salt

1/4 tsp  pepper 

• Garnish - Ranch Tortilla Chips (optional)

Put all ingredients in a saucepan and cook on medium heat for approximately 15 minutes until thickened.  Pour over pasta.   If desired, garnish with Ranch flavored tortilla chips (which can be crumpled on the top to add texture and flavor) then serve.

Linking up to Presto Pasta Night which is hosted on 8/17/12 by Simona at http://briciole.typepad.com/.
Be sure to check out all of the other wonderful pasta creations by other participants:)

CARMEL APPLE PIZZA

This is part of a food challenge hosted by Lady Behind The Curtain where each month a different combination of foods and this month it is Apples and Carmel.   For more information if you would like to participate click here.

I made this based on this recipe at Food.com  by Adopted Parisian but have added my own touches. 

Here is the recipe:

-   1 tube of pre-made chocolate chip chip or sugar cookie dough 

-   1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temp 

-   1/2 cup packed brown sugar 

-   1/4 cup creamy peanut butter 

-   1 teaspoon vanilla 

-    2 green apples 

-   1 cup of lemon lime soda (optional) 

-   10 drops of lemon juice (optional) 

-   1/2 cup caramel topping

Preheat oven to 350° or whatever is indicated on the package.  Roll out dough into a large cookie enough cookie to cover a round pizza pan and place on pan (Sorry, picture did not come out for this one).  Bake 8-10 minutes or whatever is indicated on package, then allow it to cool.

Blend the cream cheese, brown sugar, peanut butter and vanilla  until well blended.

It should look like this when blended

Spread on cookie

Wash, core and then chop the apple in to thin slices.

Pour the lemon lime soda in a bowl with the lemon juice.  Add apples and toss (will prevent apples from browning)

Place the apple slices on the cookie.

Heat up carmel 30-40 seconds in the microwave and drizzle over the top of the pizza.  

I made my own carmel topping using this recipe, but you could use a commercially prepared topping instead.

Myrtle Dip

See Myrtle Dip and 1000's of others - or share your own on Cut Out + Keep

This is from a site I follow,. One Particular Kitchen and called "Myrtle Dip" because it was created by the author's relative by that name.

It is easy because all you use is 3 items - cream cheese, a can of corn and a can of diced tomatoes.  For instructions, click here. 

It is tangier than nacho dip because cream cheese is used instead of cheddar. It also great if you have onion haters in the crowd as the corn gives it a bit of crunch without the aftertaste of onion.

Baked Spinich Dip

I wanted to use up a box of spinich that had been in freezer for awhile and went in search of a recipe and found this one at

http://www.recipezaar.com/Baked-Cream-Cheese-Spinach-Dip-118103

It turned out pretty good and served mine with tortilla chips, although it could be served with bread or pita wedges. It was mild and creamy, but really didn't have an overtly spinich taste to it. I did end up adding a little more tabasco sauce and parmesan cheese.

1 (300 g) package frozen spinach, thawed and drained 1 (250 g) package cream cheese 1/4 cup onion, chopped 4 garlic cloves, minced 1/8 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (I ended up using a little over 1/4 tsp) 2 tablespoons milk 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

4 TBSP Paremsan Cheese (optional)

Blend all ingredients in food processor, except cheddar cheese, adding as much milk as necessary for a smooth and creamy consistency.

Amount of garlic and/or Tabasco sauce can be increased for more intense flavour (I ended up adding another 1/8th tsp of Tabasco sauce after it was baked as it was a little to bland for my taste).

Spread in pie plate

T

Top with shredded cheddar cheese.

Bake at 375F for 35 minutes or until heated through and cheddar cheese is melted. Mine was a wee bit overbaked, but I mixed the cheese topping in and it turned out ok.

In the reviews I had read on the recipe, many recommended adding Parmesan Cheese, so I added about 4 TBSP.

You could put in decorative bowl for self-service, or put on a plate with a side of chips, pita or other bread.

CHEESY EGG CASSEROLE

I got this recipe from Baking Bites

http://bakingbites.com/2009/05/cheesy-egg-casserole/#more-3223

This is a good recipe for a breakfast carry-in or if you are feeding a lot of people and want to serve something a little bit different, but still please the mainstream crowd.

I ended up cutting the ingredients down from the original recipe by 1/4 and it still made 12 large pieces. It is not as cheesy as I thought it would be for containing 3 types of cheese, it was more eggy with a surprize creamy salty taste in some bites due to the cubes of cream cheese in the recipe.

• 9 large eggs
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 8 dashes salt
• 1 1/2 cups milk (any kind)
• 3/4 cup cottage cheese
• 6-oz cream cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/4-1/3 lb shredded Monterey jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking/casserole dish.

In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together eggs, flour, baking powder, salt and milk.

Stir in cottage cheese, cream cheese and shredded Monterey jack cheese.

Pour into prepared baking dish.Bake for about 45 minutes, until eggs are set and casserole is not “wet” in the middle.Dish will deflate slightly as it cools. Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving to make slicing easier.Dish can be served hot or cold.

Mild Cheesy Quesadillas

This is for when you have a craving more for mild cheesy goodness over a typical quesadilla.

Items you will need:

• Toritilas (I used fajita sided ones)
• Cream Cheese, softened
• Cheese slices or shredded cheese (I used slices)
• Non-stick cooking spray (I used PAM)
• Frying pan
• Pancake turner
• Jar of salsa (optional)
• Jar of green olives (optional)
• Sour cream (optional)

Spread cream cheese over each tortilla on one side

Spray the frying pan with non-stick cooking spray, then put the tortilla in the frying pan cheese side up, heat on low to medium and add the sliced or shredded cheese on top. When the cheese starts to melt, add another tortilla on top of the cheese for leave for less than a minute.

Flip the tortilla over and cook for a few minutes until the bottom is as crispy as the top. Remove from pan and place on serving plate, cut the tortilla in quarters and top with salsa, sour cream and green olives or other condiments, depending on your personal preferences.