Cream Sauce for Pasta

This is my favorite way to make pasta and the possibilities are endless with the simple yet delicious cream sauce recipe. I hope it becomes a staple in your home as it has in mine.

Ingredients for sauce:
10 slices of bacon, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 cup chicken broth (I dilute 1 tablespoon of chicken base into a cup of water)
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed in a small amount of cool water

Additions at our home:
Seasoned Chicken, diced
Shrimp
Mushrooms
*you can add anything you'd like to make the meal your own
cooked pasta

Begin by frying bacon, once bacon is almost done add in onion and turn heat down to medium low and saute until onions are almost translucent (don't cook them all the way because they will continue to cook in the sauce) Drain mixture on a paper towel and throw out excess oil that was left in the pan.

At this point I cook whatever meat I will be using for my pasta recipe. I often use shrimp or chicken. (You can also marinate the chicken in any flavor you choose the McCormick grill mates marinades that come in the small packet that you add oil, vinegar and water to are my favorite. If you do this your sauce will also pick up the flavor that you marinated in. I like to use the chipotle pepper seasoning to make a spicy chicken pasta)

After I cook the chicken until almost done I always add in mushrooms (we love mushrooms at my house) then add in the bacon/onion mixture. Add in the chicken broth then the whipping cream then the Parmesan cheese. Bring mixture to a boil and then turn down to low and continue to cook on low. I always taste the sauce to make sure its exactly how I like it and you can add more cheese or whipping cream depending on what you like. The sauce should not be mild because the sauce is going over pasta so it will mellow out some then. Do not season with more salt because there is salt in the bacon and the chicken broth. You can season with pepper if you'd like. After about 5-7 minutes on a low boil add in the cornstarch and cook until the sauce thickens up about 2-3 minutes. Add this mixture over your favorite pasta for a Delicious meal.

The sauce itself will take on any flavor you want it to. I've added fresh herbs in the summertime such as basil, oregano, parsley to add a boost of flavor. You can adjust the seasonings however you'd like. This recipe feeds my family of 2 adults and 1 child (who eats a lot) and there is usually enough left over for us all a small lunch the next day. I also butter some barbecue bread and bake it to go along side of it. You can also add garlic if you like a garlic cream sauce. Basically this sauce is a chameleon and will be great with any additions you can think of. I haven't tried artichokes yet but I bet they would be great too!