Easy Sauce Recipes

Here are four tasty sauce recipes that I got from the October 2009 Rachael Ray magazine (thanks Rachael Ray).  You simply toss with 1 lb of pasta of your choice. Talk about an easy dinner. I usually double the sauce recipe and use 2 lbs of pasta so we can have a little extra for later. Typically the 1 lb of pasta and sauce should serve 4 people easily. My favorite is the Browned Butter Sauce...delicious!

Cream Sauce:
In an 8 inch skillet, combine 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream, 2 tablespoons butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, until thick enough to coat a spoon, about 4 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley and remove from the heat. Add 1/3 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese when tossing with pasta.

Tomato Sauce:
In a medium skillet, combine 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley and 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic over medium-high heat. When the garlic is sizzling, add 2 cups chopped canned peeled tomatoes with their juice and season with salt. Lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated and the oil begins to separate from the sauce, 20 to 25 minutes.

Browned Butter Sauce:
In a small saucepan, melt 6 tablespoons butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt over medium-low heat. Add 1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage and cook, stirring often, until the butter begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons heavy cream and remove from the heat. Add 1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese when tossing with pasta.

Garlic and Oil Sauce:
In a small skillet, combine 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic and 3/4 teaspoon salt over medium heat. Once the garlic sizzles, remove from heat.

ENJOY!