Got sauce? Fast and easy recipes to survive the holiday season

November 3, 12:31 PMNutrition ExaminerCarol Bardelli

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Macaroni and cheese pleases everyone.

Public domain.

Halloween is behind us, yet the holiday season is just gearing up. Our days and evenings will be filled with planning, budgeting, shopping, cooking, and entertaining. To make the busy holiday season easier, this column will regularly run tips and recipes for making delicious and healthy food that's fast and easy.

Making pasta a regular menu item is a budget friendly way to please your family and friends. Who doesn't love spaghetti with pesto sauce or macaroni with cheddar cheese sauce.  See a video demonstration of a simple pasta sauce recipe below.

Pasta cooks in minutes and can be a part of a healthy diet in moderation. Most pasta has a one serving size of one cup equaling approximately 200 calories. When indulging in cream or cheese based sauces, limit yourself as they pack a wallop at approximately 100 calories per 2 ounce serving. If you're going low carb, remember to stock your pantry with Dreamfield's pasta or substitute spaghetti squash for pasta.

Nutrition tip: for fast and easy side dishes, try prepackaged salad kits and precut fruit and vegetable trays from your grocery store's produce department. For a nominal extra cost you save prep time and can still serve healthy fare.

Nutrition tip: Limit your carbohydrate servings to one per meal instead of two or more (example: bread, pasta, potatoes, rice,) and save calories. Substitute vegetables or lean proteins to save your waistline. Even at equal calorie values protein is less likely to be stored as body fat because it doesn't spike insulin levels. Read Nutrition 101: Do calories count on a low carbohydrate diet?

"Simplicity is an acquired taste. Mankind, left free, instinctively complicates life." - Katharine Fullerton Gerould

Fast Pesto Sauce

4 cups fresh basil
4 garlic cloves
1/4 stick unsalted butter
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 cup grated Romano cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a food processor, combine all ingredients for 60 to 90 seconds. Scrape ingredients down from sides of processor and continue combining until thick and smooth. Serve over spaghetti or other pasta noodles. Makes about 1 cup.

Basic Cheese Sauce

When making basic cheese sauce it is very critical to use a top quality, highly flavorful cheddar cheese such as Vermont cheddar.

4 tablespoons Butter
4 tablespoons Flour
1 1/2 cup milk, heated
1 cup heavy cream, heated
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cheddar cheese
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon paprika

Melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, until flour cooks and bubbles, but does not brown. Add hot milk and cream, stirring constantly, until sauce begins to thicken. Bring to a boil and add cheese, salt, cayenne and paprika. Turn down heat and stir until cheese melts and sauce is blended. Serves 8. Serve blended with cooked macaroni or over vegetables.

Recipes courtesy 'A Cowboy Cookin' Every Night Southern Style' by Carol Bardelli.