Weddingbee boards

I think I've put this on here before, but here is an easy recipe for alfredo sauce (and people love it):

1 block of softened cream cheese

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup of butter (NOT MARGARINE)

1 & 1/3 cups of milk

3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/8 tsp of freshly ground black pepper

Optional: parsley

Directions:

Cut the cream cheese into cubes.  Melt butter over medium heat and add minced garlic.  Continue cooking until garlic is softened (a minute or two).  Add cubes of cream cheese.  Allow cream cheese to soften further and get mostly melted.  Do not be concerned that the butter and cream cheese remain separated, they will come together with milk.  Add black pepper.  Very slowly whisk in milk (this must be done slowly or the sauce will stay lumpy).  Allow mixture to thicken a bit while continuing to whisk over medium heat.  Add parmesan cheese (you can add more if you prefer that taste!).  Toss with hot pasta and serve immediately.  Garnish with parsley for some colour!  Makes about 2 cups of sauce (great for company or tons of leftovers).

This is a huge hit and one of my fiance's fave meals.

Edit: make sure to not use the powdered cheese, it will make the sauce grainy and yucky.  It needs to be freshly grated!  Cream cheese can be light and milk can be skim to reduce fat.

Cool present! You're a good SIL. My FBIL's getting a gift cert to American Eagle for Christmas. LOL

Is he moving far? Just a suggestion, but when a college friend & his wife moved into our neighborhood we gave them a book of coupons & menus for delivery places around us. If your BIL's moving far away, you can prob. print some menus off menupages.com and put them in the back of the cookbook.

Here's a recipe I used to make these all the time when I 1st moved out. What's better than choc. chip cookies to cure being homesick? My Aunt emailed it to me (she knows how impatient I am so I love her little notes too - like, don't cheat & nuke the butter - haha)

Super Soft CC Cookies

Pre heat 350

1 cup butter (room temp – NO NOT IN THE MICROWAVE)

1/4 c sugar

3/4 c brown sugar

splash vanilla

2 eggs

1 pk instant vanilla pudding

1 tsp baking power

2.5 c flour

1 bag choc chips

Follow general mixing directions... (ya know, wet stuff goes together & dry stuff goes together 1st then you combine them)

Bake 6-8 minutes, until edges are golden – let them cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet and move to wax or parchment paper to cool (they will fall through a wire cooling rack!) WAIT... for the cookie sheet to cool enough to hold before loading up again... or just alternate 2 sheets.

Makes around 4 dozen...

ALT: white choc w/ mac nuts and cheesecake pudding

ALT: peanut butter chips w/ choc pudding

Oh, I have another family fave:

Chocolate Fudge

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 can of condensed milk

Directions:

Stir together chocolate chips and condensed milk in a microwaveable container until well-mixed.  Microwave on high for 2 minutes.  Remove and stir until mixture is no longer separate.  Spread mixture into 8 or 9 inch pre-buttered pan.  Chill in fridge and  cut into squares.  Easiest and most popular fudge I've ever made!  It's also great with mint-chocolate chips.