Pesto Alfredo Sauce - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 cup milk (or 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup cream)
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 dash garlic powder (optional)
1 cup basil pesto (see notes)
1/2 - 3/4 cup parmesan cheese (see notes)

Preparation

Heat cream cheese, milk (or milk and cream), and garlic together in a small saucepan. Bring just barely to boiling.
Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until cream cheese is fully melted into the milk.
Stir in the pesto and reheat to just barely boiling again.
Stir in Parmesan and simmer a few moments until the sauce begins to thicken.
Remove from heat and serve over any pasta.
Note on Pesto: Best made with a pure basil pesto rather than a basil-and-spinach pesto. Homemade or commercial is fine.
Note on Parmesan: I freeze my homemade pesto without the cheese so I use the full 3/4 cup. If your pesto has a generous amount of cheese you will not need as much. Not that plenty of Parmesan is a bad thing. :D.
If you toss this together with pasta, chunks of cooked chicken, and broccoli florets then spread it in a baking pan with plenty of shredded Mozzarella on top you get a terrific casserole.