How To Make a Basic Cream Sauce

For years I had been using canned cream soups to make my sauces for casseroles and never knew that I could make my own sauce with basic ingredients that I had in my kitchen. Since learning this, I have been able to save a ton of money by not buying the canned soups and have been able to make better meals for my family. This cream sauce is my base for so many dishes, which makes the time I spend cooking shorter!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c butter
• 1/4 c flour
• 2 c milk

Directions: Melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Once melted, add flour and whisk until incorporated. Slowly add the milk while whisking. Continue to whisk to remove clumps and prevent the milk from burning. Slowly whisk until the sauce thickens.

That’s it. Seriously! That’s all you do. Now, what do you do with this sauce? Well, there are several dishes that you can make. Here are a few examples:

1. Broccoli & Chicken: Add 1 cup of cheddar cheese to the sauce and whisk until the cheese is melted. Add garlic powder, thyme & pepper. Then add 2 cups of cooked, chopped broccoli and 2 cups of cooked, cubed chicken. Cook until heated through and serve over rice.
2. Chicken Pot Pie: Add seasoning to sauce, I like to use pepper, rosemary and thyme. Then add one 12oz bag of mixed veggies (cooked), 2 cups of cooked, cubed chicken and pour into a prepared uncooked pie crust. Cover with another pie crust and cook at 425 degrees for 30 minutes.
3. Macaroni & Cheese: Add 2 cups of cheese – any kind you like, I often use 1 cup each of sharp cheddar and blue cheese. Add pepper and garlic powder then whisk until the cheese is melted. Add cooked noodles and mix.

There are 3 meals with the same base sauce, so easy! I often saute chopped garlic when I melt the butter or add the herbs to the sauce with the milk so that they cook with the sauce and increase the flavor. There are so many more recipes to make with this sauce, I look forward to share them all with you!