The Most Delicious Alfredo Sauce in the World + Steak Enchiladas

One day, dissatisfied with every alfredo recipe in my recipe box (there are at least 4), I went searching the Interwebz for a new one. Requirements? It had to be super-fattening, rich, and better than anything I've ever made myself; something of (higher) restaurant quality. And it had to be a recipe I could use with more than just fettuccine.

After the recipe, I'll share three of my favorite ways to use it. So here it is, the devilishly delicious alfredo recipe that's so good, just thinking about it will ruin your new diet:
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4 T unsalted butter (I use regular salted butter)
3 cloves garlic, finely minced (I used pre-minced from the jar)
1/2 package of cream cheese, softened and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 C milk (use whatever kind you want, here. Fattier is probably more delicious though. ;) )
3 oz. parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
kosher salt, to taste.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add cream cheese, stirring with whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking until smooth. Stir in Parmesan and pepper. Season with salt, if needed. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken quickly.
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Easy, right?? And there's a surprise bonus. I've NEVER had this sauce separate when reheated at a later time. I love to use this recipe not only in chicken fettuccine alfredo with a Normandy vegetable mix (or just broccoli), but I love to use it on Chicken Alfredo Pizza (I'll post this one next week), and especially in Steak Enchiladas.

Steak enchiladas are so flipping good, you'll probably make them once a week.

All you need:
- Alfredo sauce from above
- Wild rice, 2 C (2 cans if you used canned), as much as you want, really.
- 1 lb Sirloin steak, grilled
- Tortillas, about 10

Prepare (or open and drain) your wild rice. If you make it from dry rice, bake it according to pakage directions. That's the best and easiest method and it tastes way better than canned. Prepare your alfredo sauce. Grill your steak to medium rare with whatever seasonings you like and cut it into thin slices. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray (just to make it a little fattier, lol!). Take your tortillas and fill with rice and steak in whatever proportion you like. Spoon some alfredo sauce over the fillings, roll up the tortilla and put in the baking dish. Repeat with the rest of your tortillas and fillings. Once they're all rolled up you should still have some alfredo left over. Spread this evenly over the top and sprinkle with a little cheese and/or some parmesan. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Devour.

I hope you give these recipes a shot. The alfredo sauce is definitely worth it. So're the steak enchiladas.Heck, anything that has this sauce in it is worth it.

Arroz con Pollo

You know when you've been lazy busy all day and you just can't think of anything you want to cook or everything you have to cook will probably take too long? This happened to me the other day. My sweet husband has been awesome enough to take on the grocery list making duties (apparently it takes me way to long to do it - score!) and one of the dishes he chose was arroz con pollo, a Mexican dish - can't get enough Mexican around here! I know the recipe came out of my recipe box, but prior to that, I'm clueless as to its origins. As I was reading through it I thought, This recipe doesn't sound very much like the arroz con pollo I used to eat at Cazador.

When I mentioned that to Guy, he told me to make it like they do. I gazed at him with stupidity while I contemplated the idea. Then I decided to take the easy way out - the Interwebz would have the answer! But it didn't. All I found were Progresso recipes and the like - ones that called for cream of chicken soup (bleh!) or ingredients I would only be able to find in a Latin market.

Finally I decided to wing it. For my family of 5 (with 4 eating), here's my recipe for arroz con pollo:
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Ingredients:

• 3 cups of prepared rice (I use brown but you can use white)
• 2-3 T olive oil
• 3 or 4 Small Frozen Chicken Breasts, thawed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped 
• 2 T minced garlic (I always use lots of garlic. Use less if you don't like it so much)
• oregano to flavor
• paprika to flavor
• 8 oz. fresh baby portabella mushrooms
• 1 1/2 C water
• 1-2 tsp chicken base (I use Better than Bullion)

Prepare the rice. I use a rice cooker because I can't cook rice (or milk-based sauces) without scorching or burning it.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Thaw your chicken and cut into pieces. Throw it in the pan, sprinkle on salt and pepper to taste. Add onion, pepper, and garlic and cook until onions are transparent and chicken is nice and browned and cooked through. Add oregano and paprika to flavor (I used about a T of oregano and 1/2 T of paprika). Taste your delicious concoction and add more spices if you need to. Reduce heat to medium low, add 1/2 cup of water and mushrooms. Cover and simmer until mushrooms are heated through and are tender - about 5 minutes. Add 1 C water and chicken base and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add your rice to your dish, mix thoroughly, and you're ready to eat! Alternatively, you could just put the chicken mixture over the rice.

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If you try the recipe, let me know how you like it or what you did differently!

I especially like the fresh mushrooms in this dish, they add a really robust and savory flavor. I can't imagine canned mushrooms could add the same flavor, but give it a shot if that's all ya got! I could have also used a little more oregano according to my husband. I told him next time he cooked it, he could add as much as he wanted, lol! Overall, I was very pleased with the flavor and texture of this delicious and quick meal - it was very similar to the restaurant version that I miss so much. It may not be "authentic" but it sure is good!