Guiltless Alfredo Sauce

Make this. Love this. Don't feel bad about it!! This is my go-to recipe for Alfredo sauce. I will NEVER use another!!

2 cups low fat milk (not skim)
1/3 cup (3 oz) low fat cream cheese
2 T flour
1 t salt
1 T butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup freshly shredded parmesan

Put milk, cream cheese, flour and salt in a blender and blend until creamy. Saute butter and garlic in saucepan until tender, about 30 seconds. Add mixture from the blender. Stir constantly until thick, about 3-4 minutes. When it's nice and thick, remove from heat and add Parmesan cheese and cover. Let stand for 10 minutes. Stir until creamy. Then die cause you've made the best sauce EVER!!

*From Our Best Bites

White Chicken Lasagna Roll-ups

I knew I wanted to try these as soon as I saw them. Anything that is covered in Alfredo sauce is right up my alley:) And definitely don't hesitate to make this homemade Alfredo sauce because it's lower in fat and is super delicious. It's my go-to now and I always have the ingredients on hand. These roll-ups are so delicious and look fancy too, so go ahead and impress your guests with your beautiful food!

1 lb chicken breasts, shredded
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup mozzerella chees, plus more for topping
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
2 T fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups Alfredo sauce (Delicious Homemade recipe here)
8 lasagna noodles, cooked and cooled slightly

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl, mix the cooked shredded chicken, ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, parsley and garlic until combined.

Spread a ladle or two of Alfredo sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.

Lay out one lasagna noodle on a cutting board, spread about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture along the noodle and roll up the noodle from one end to the other. Lay the roll seam side down in the pan on top of the alfredo sauce.

Repeat with remaining noodles and filling, laying each on top of the sauce. Top with more alfredo sauce and as much mozzarella cheese as desired.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes until heated through and cheese is browned slightly on top.

*From Tasty Kitchen

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

This soup is the perfect fall dinner. It's so hearty, yet light. The flavor is to die for and it's easy-peasy to make. It might be my new favorite dish:) If you want to warm up this winter, try this soup.

2 T butter
2 T olive oil
1 cup onion, diced
4 stalks celery, chopped
4 whole large carrots, peeled and cubed
6 cups chicken broth
¾ pounds chicken breasts (cubed)
1 box Uncle Ben's Long Grain And Wild Rice (6 Oz.)
1-½ cups milk

1/3 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste

In large pot, heat butter and olive oil. Sauté onions, celery and carrots on medium low heat for 10 minutes to soften. Season vegetables with salt and pepper.

Pour in chicken broth and cubed raw chicken. Raise temperature to medium high heat to poach chicken in cooking liquid. Once chicken has cooked and become opaque, pour in rice and the seasoning packet that came with the rice. Cover and reduce heat to simmer lightly for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a small bowl, whisk cold milk with flour until smooth. Pour into the soup pot and reduce heat completely to low. Cook 10 minutes or until rice is softened completely and soup has thickened slightly. Taste and season accordingly. Serve hot.

* From Tasty Kitchen

Snickers Cookies

With all of this Halloween candy craziness, I was looking for a way to get rid of some. How much does one 4 year old need anyway?! I picked out all of the Snickers candy bars and made these cookies. They turned out divine. The caramel melts into a delicious, gooey bite and the cookie itself proved to be perfect. Chewy and a little crisp on the edges...just they way they should be!

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup granualted sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
1/2 t salt
1 t baking soda
2 1/4 cups flour
10 fun size Snickers bars, cut into small pieces
1/2-3/4 cup milk chocolate chips (depending on how "chunky" you want them)

Cream butter and sugars until light and creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and whip until well blended. Add salt, baking soday and flour. Stir until just combined. Stir in Snickers bars and chocolate chips. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Let cool on tray for 2-3 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack. Enjoy!!

Garlic Shrimp Pasta

I was really feeling like a shrimp pasta dish today. And what Mommy wants, Mommy gets:) This is so light, yet packed full of flavor. I was worried that the sauce wouldn't be "saucy" enough and I can't eat a pasta without a flavorful sauce, but I was surprised at how thick and delicious the sauce was. If you're looking for a lighter touch to your life, try this recipe!

8 ounces spaghetti
4 cups fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 lb shrimp
1 cup chicken broth
1 t. dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste
2 T butter
3 T parmesan cheese (or more depending on your taste)
Olive oil

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta and return it to the pan. Add spinach and 2 tablespoons olive oil; toss and set aside.

While pasta is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet on medium high. Add onion and cook for 1 minute. Add shrimp and garlic; cook for 2 minutes or until shrimp begins turning pink. Add broth, salt and pepper; cook for 2 minutes or until shrimp is cooked. Stir in butter and parsley. Toss with pasta and top with Parmesan cheese. Add more Parmesan cheese to taste.

*Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

Chicken Stuffing Casserole

I'm so tired of eating the same thing over and over and over...aren't you? Maybe it's because for the past 4 months I've been making the same thing. Well, that's over now. And I'm dying to eat new and exciting recipes! This was SO good to me. I was even surprised with my 18 month old shoveled it in her mouth by the handful since she's on a hunger strike now. The hubby even loved it even though he despises corn. It's just a great balance of flavor and turned into an awesome, fast fall dinner.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
11 oz frozen sweet corn (you can sub canned corn)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 package cornbread stuffing

Make stuffing according to package directions. Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper and lay chicken breast in the bottom of a baking pan. Saute pepper, onion and garlic in about 1 T olive oil till tender, about 3 minutes. Spread evenly over chicken. Mix corn and cream of chicken soup. Spread evenly over chicken and peppers. Top with prepared stuffing. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 for another 15-20 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Enjoy!!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

So have any of you been wondering where I've been?! I sure have! I found out several months ago that I'm pregnant with #3! Well, with that came EXTREME sickness and my inability to look at food, let alone cook it. This week I'm 15 weeks, which came with a little bit of relief. I found myself making dinner several times this week AND whipped up these puppies. They are SO easy, SO moist and SO delicious. I threw in a few peanut butter chips for good measure, cause it just sounded good to me. I definitely recommend this. Yummmm...

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1/4 sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 small box chocolate pudding
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 t salt
1 t baking soda
1 cup peanut butter chips
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a standing mixer, cream together butter and sugars about 2 minutes until very light and fluffy. Add chocolate pudding and mix well. Add eggs and vanilla and whip another 1-2 minutes. Add flour, salt and baking soda. Mix until just blended. Stir in chips (you can eliminate peanut butter chips and just double the chocolate chips if you'd like, but come on, it's peanut butter and chocolate!!)

Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and to a cooling rack. Enjoy!