Ashley’s Favorite Sauces: Basic White Sauce/ Basic Cheese Sauce

I would give credit to whatever recipe book this came out of, but I swear I think it was the -original- microwave cookbook that came with our -original-microwave, that I think my parents got when I was under five. Thirty-five years now: there is no TELLING where that cookbook is, nor what the name of it was, lol!

I find a four-cup measure works best for me, making - well, it’s two cups of milk, but often I wind up adding more milk to thin it down after it stands for a few minutes. So a four-cup measure for this recipe. Expect to make a bit more than two cups of sauce.

BASIC WHITE SAUCE 

2 cups milk 

4 T butter or margarine

4 T flour (for gluten free, I use white rice flour)

In a microwaveable bowl, heat milk 2 minutes on power level 7. 

In four-cup measure, melt the butter or margins for 45 seconds, covered with wax paper. (This splatters.) Stir in flour. Microwave 30 seconds.

Briskly stir in warmed milk with a whisk. Whisk until no lumps remain. Microwave two minutes, keeping a close eye on it. (This boils over QUICK.) Stir/whisk, again until no lumps remain. Microwave another two minutes or until boiling.

Let stand five minutes before serving.

*Often this will thicken upon standing. If that happens, whisk in enough milk to thin to desired consistency. 

For a BASIC CHEESE SAUCE,

Make the BASIC WHITE SAUCE recipe. After it boils, stir in your desired shredded or cubed cheese before letting it stand. After standing five minutes, it probably will need thinned down. Whisk in milk until it is desired consistency.