Easy Pasta Sauces

If I had the choice, I’d eat pasta every day. Unfortunately, I don’t work out nearly enough to balance my pasta obsession. I have learned to eat pasta only once every two weeks or so and it really made me appreciate it even more. Of course, it helps that my husband doesn’t like pasta so he never asks me to make it. In fact, the only time I get to eat pasta is when he doesn’t really feel like having dinner and I get the only say on the menu. In the last month, I made two very easy and delicious pasta sauces that I wanted to share: a rosé sauce and a creamy Alfredo-like sauce.

*Please note that I was making up the recipe as I went along so quantities as approximate.
Rosé sauce:

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp of butter
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 can of tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup of light cream (adjust to taste with more or less cream)
• Sea salt & pepper, to taste
• A handful of fresh basil, finely chopped

What’s next?

1. Melt the butter on medium heat in a small saucepan.
2. Add the garlic and move it around in the butter until it’s starting to get nice and golden.
3. Add the tomato sauce and light cream, and blend them together .
4. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, add the basil, salt & pepper to taste.

That’s about it! When I made mine, I cut some cherry tomatoes in half and added them at the end but that was just a bonus!

Alfredo-Like Sauce:

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp of butter
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 2 ounces of fat free cream cheese (regular would work too)
• 1/3 cup (approx.) of light cream
• 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
• Sea salt and pepper, to taste

What’s Next?

1. Melt the butter on medium heat in a small saucepan.
2. Add the garlic and move it around in the butter until it’s starting to get nice and golden.
3. Add the cream cheese and the cream. Stir until the cream cheese is mostly incorporated and the texture of the sauce is smoother. I added a little bit of fat free milk but it’s really up to your taste.
4. Add the Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Stir until it is well blended.

I served this sauce over linguini with sauteed mushrooms and steamed fresh sweet peas. I had seen this dish at a restaurant but when I tried it there, it wasn’t as delicious as I expected it to be. Like too many restaurant chains, it tasted greasy and not so fresh. I made this dish partly to redeem my last taste of it as I knew it had potential if it was done right. And I wasn’t disappointed!

Now, I know that these sauces are pretty basic and that’s the whole point. Although there are days when I want to make fancy-shmancy dishes and sauces, other times, I just want something quick and easy that will also be very flavorful. These are definitely my to-go pasta sauce when I just don’t want the regular vegetable sauce.