Blue Cheese Alfredo

Whole wheat pasta tossed in a creamy, cheesy, blue cheese sauce studded with pistachios.

I had some blue cheese dip/dressing in my freezer that I finally got around to thawing.  It was in there longer than it probably should have been but it tasted fine the sour cream just got soupy, not what you want for a dip.  I didn't want to throw it away so I tried to thicken it by adding a pack of cream cheese.  That didn't work to thicken it but it sure tasted great so I decided to transform it into something different.  You could make this with regular blue cheese dip (that hasn't gone soupy) just add more white wine, or pasta water, to thin the sauce to the consistency you prefer.

That is when I decided to make an alfredo sauce from it.  My husband made the suggestion to add some pistachios to the sauce too.  I was very doubtful about his suggestion I thought they would get soggy and gross but he assured me it would be good (he has traveled to Italy and I haven't so I followed his suggestion).  Boy, I'm glad I did they were delicious.  They softened a bit in the sauce, but they were not soggy, and they were delicious adding some extra texture and protein to the meal.  I only used 1/4 cup of pistachios in this recipe but I would recommend more (I apologized to my husband for doubting him).

Blue Cheese Alfredo

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp garlic, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups blue cheese dip
1 8oz pack cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup pistachios
Whole wheat pasta
basil
cracked pepper

In a large saute pan, saute the garlic, in the oil, until soft and fragrant.  Pour in the white wine and reduce by half.

Meanwhile, mix the blue cheese dip and the cream cheese until well blended and then add it to the garlic and wine sauce.  Add the pistachios and let simmer until the sauce thickens to desired consistency.

While the sauce is thickening cook the pasta al dente.  I used whole wheat spaghetti but you could use fettuccine of any pasta of your choice.  Add the drained pasta to the sauce and remove from the heat.  Cover and let sit for a few minutes.  Toss well before serving.

Makes 4 servings.  Garnish with fresh cracked pepper and basil.  Great with broccoli on the side.

Enjoy.

Linked to:  Merry Monday, Two Cup, Lou Lou Girls, Teach Me, Brag About it, Tasty Tues, Wonderful Wed, Whimsy Wed, Yuck Stops Here, Full Plate, Cook Craft Share. Eat Create Party, Freedom Friday, Pretty Pintastic, Best of the Weekend, Share it Sunday, See ya in the Gumbo, Much Ado


Follow Joy Bee's board Joybee Whats for Dinner blog posts on Pinterest.

Read more ...

Blue Cheese Dip/Dressing

A very simple blue cheese dip for vegetables that can also be used as a dressing for salads or a dip for buffalo wings.

One day my husband came home from the store with some fancy blue cheese dip/dressing.  It was on sale because usually it is pretty expensive.  We ate it that night with raw broccoli and wow was it good.  I don't usually care for blue cheese dressing, but this had a great blue cheese flavor with actual chunks of cheese in it.  A few days later it was gone and my husband asked if I could make it.  I immediately looked online for recipes and the general consensus was sour cream and blue cheese.  It couldn't be easier.

My husband bought huge tubs of each at Costco and we had enough supplies to make 4 rounds of dip.  We froze two (we haven't tried the frozen ones yet so I'm not sure if this was a good idea or not but it was worth a try, I'll update when I've tried them) and ate the other two within a couple of weeks.  And we had extra sour cream and blue cheese for other recipes.  The best part of all was that it tasted better and was much cheaper than the store bought.

Ingredients:

2 cups sour cream
1/2-1 cup blue cheese crumbles
2 Tbsp Mayonnaise, optional
salt and pepper and garlic powder to taste

Stir all ingredients together and serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 week (if you are like us it won't last that long).

We tried it with mayonnaise and without and couldn't tell the difference.

Use as much or as little blue cheese as you like depending on your taste preference.

It makes a great dip for all kinds of vegetables.  We used broccoli, celery, carrots, bell peppers, and sugar snap peas.  Our favorite was the broccoli.  It would also be a great dip for hot wings.

Enjoy.

Linked to:  Retro Repin

Read more ...