Super Simple Cheddar Mac & Cheese

Where has the time gone?

 It was brought to my attention last weekend (shout out to Tami!) that it has been over four months since my last post. Which also means that it has been over four months since my last blogspot log in.  I must admit that upon todays log in, I was tickled to see that I have had over 13,000 blog views.  :)  Now, I am completely aware that there are thousands of bloggers out there who by far surpass me in numbers and probably have quadruple that amount in followers and probably get that number of page views on the daily.  Good for them, but that is not what I'm about.  I like to share at my leisure and not feel as if I must produce.  So that is exactly what I will continue to do.  With that said, thank you to those that continue to check in and to Tami for giving me a little nudge. 

I was also thrilled to see that my most viewed post is this, a recipe that I created myself.  The second most viewed is my recipe is for this, which is also delicious (A sad but true fact: I had to sing "Fergalicious" in my head to get that spelled right). 

Please excuse me while I go refill my glass with a little more two "and a half" buck Chuck....

K I'm back, refilled, and good to go!  Where were we? Oh yes, the Two Buck Chuck!  Who else thinks they should change it's nickname already? It would totally still rhyme and make a lot more sense. Let me just say that I am comfortable enough with my own frugalness (or smartness as I like to call it) to not be ashamed to admit that I, on occasion, drink the two buck Chuck.  I must also admit though, that I am no wine connoisseur and if you are, then maybe you are gagging on your cork right now, who knows?! 

So lets get to this recipe already, shall we?

Last week I made this CRAZY good mac n cheese. I am talking RICH, CREAMY, CHEESY, SUPER SIMPLE, "ARE YOU GOING TO FINISH THAT?" kind of mac & cheese!  It was so palate pleasing that I actually made it two nights in a row!! And in our house that is absurd! If I make a dish today, it better not appear in the rotation for at least a month or someone will say "didn't we just have this?!" My cousin twin, (cousins that look a ton alike, and sound a lot alike and that were born only a month apart) said that she is really loving mac & cheese at the moment, so I just had to post this recipe for her! :) Cheers to you Kell Bell!

This recipe does not make a ton.  It worked well for us as two adult sized side servings with enough left over to send with the husband the next day for lunch with a grilled chicken breast. 

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 C uncooked small shaped pasta (obviously macaroni is a great choice.  I acutally used orecchiette the first time and penne the second)
1/4 C butter
1/4 C all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
4 pinches of pepper
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 C half & half
1 C milk
1 1/2 C Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
4 dashes hot sauce (such as Tapatio)
Panko bread crumbs
1/2 C Shredded Cheddar Cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare an 8X8 glass dish with cooking spray.  Set aside.  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  fill a small sauce pan with salted water.  Bring to a boil. Stir in the uncooked pasta.  Cook according to package directions.  Drain well and set aside.  Using the same saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat.  Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, onion powder, half and half and milk.  Whisk until smooth and cook until thickened.  (This will take just a few minutes.)  Turn the heat to low, whisk in 1 1/2 of cheddar cheese, ground mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce.  Stir in the cooked pasta.  Spoon the cheesy pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish.  Sprinkle with desired amount of bread crumbs.  Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 C cheddar cheese.  Bake in preheated oven for 4 min. or until the cheese is melted.  Enjoy!

Brown Rice Pilaf

I am a bg fan of brown rice, the boys...eh, not so much!  I am on a determined quest to find new ways to prepare brown rice for the whole family to enjoy.  This recipe was attempt #2 (with attempt #1 being the plain ol' boring, basic, brown rice).  Carson ignored the side all together.  Dominic bluntly stated "I HATE mushrooms!".  The hubby politely consumed the side and gave me an unenthusiastic "it was good." I on the other hand LOVED this dish!!!  I thought it went well with the salmon tacos I made that night.  I'll probably make this next when we have company over, or to bring along to someone's house.  I'd like to see how others like this side dish.  :)

INGREDIENTS:

2.5 TBSP olive oil
1/2 lb. Cremini mushrooms, sliced
6 green onions
salt & freshly ground black pepper
4 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 TBSP soy sauce
1 C long grain brown rice
1 C chicken stock
1 C water
1/2 lime

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium skillet heat 2 TBSP. of the olive oil over medium heat add the mushrooms and half of the green onions and season with salt and pepper.  Sautee for 8 minutes until the mushrooms have browned and softened.  Next add the garlic and the remaining .5 TBSP of olive oil.  Sautee for another 2 minutes then add the soy sauce, rice, chicken stock and water.  Season with a large pinch of salt and pepper.  Bring to a full boil.  Scrape the rice into a 8x8 glass baking dish.  Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes.  Remove the foil, fluff the pilaf with a fork, squeeze the lime over the pilaf and top with the remaining 3 green onions.  ENJOY!

recipe adapted from foodandwine.com

Homemade Rice-a-Roni

 

Boxes of Rice-a-roni used to be a staple in our cupboards. 

"What shall I serve with these pork chops tonight?" " I know, Rice-a-roni!"

" Hmmm... what'll go good with this bbq chicken?" " How about some Rice-a-roni?!"

Pretty sad, right!?

Over the past few years I have become more and more conscientious of what I feed my family.  It hasn't happened overnight, but I have cut waaaay back on the amount of "boxed" foods and convenience foods that I purchase, which includes....you guessed it! RICE-A-RONI!!  It brings me much joy to make things by scratch as often and possible.  I had never realized before how easy and inexpensive it can be to create some of my favorite items at home that I used to thoughtlessly throw into my shopping cart. So you can imagine how thrilled I was to stumble across a recipe for homemade rice-a-roni on pinterest.  It has taken me a few tries to adjust the recipe to our taste and I am ever so proud to present to you my adapted recipe for "Homemade rice-a-roni"!!

Rice-a-roni (just wanted to throw that in one more time...not sure that I mentioned it enough yet!) :)

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 C raw orzo
3/4 C raw white rice
2 TBSP butter
14.5 oz. boiling water
2 tsp. chicken granules (heaping)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried parsley

DIRECTIONS:

In a large skillet, over medium high heat, melt the butter and sauté the orzo until is starts to brown. Add the white rice and continue to brown until golden.  Add the boiling water, chicken granules, garlic powder and dried parsley.  Bring to a full boil then turn the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.  ENJOY!

*NOTE* You can replace the boiling water & chicken granules with store bought or homemade chicken stock.  I use chicken granules a lot in place of chicken stock...It saves a lot of money! Especially if you purchase the giant container of Knorr chicken granules from Costco.  You can make aprox. 115 cups of  broth for under $8.00!!!  What a steal!

recipe adapted from food.com

Purple-urple Roasted Potatoes!

Gorgeous!

 

Purple is my favorite color, maybe that's why I am so intrigued by purple potatoes!  Well, its either that, or the fact that they sell cheaper per pound than the red potatoes AND:

 

 

" Purple potatoes are the one starch that doesn’t add pounds, while providing the antioxidant, anthocyanin, the same flavonoid that is found in red and purple produce such as berries and pomegranates...." - NaturalHealth365.com

 

 

At first, the boys weren't too keen on the thought of eating purple potatoes.  After their first bite, they changed their minds.  I suggested that I could try mashing them next time...they didn't like that idea at all.  :(  Don't mess with men and their mashed potatoes! 

 

I didn't get a picture of the finished product.  They didn't look quite as pretty once they had been roasted.  Imagine a roasted russet potato, now imagine a purple roasted russet potato...and that's exactly what they looked like! :)

INGREDIENTS:

3 lbs. purple potatoes, cubed
1/4 C olive oil (I used seasoned)
kosher salt (as much or as little as you like, I used aprox. 1/4 tsp.)
fresh ground black pepper (as much or as little as you like, I used aprox. 1/2 tsp.)

DIRECTIONS:

Adjust your oven rack to the lowest position and preheat your oven to 450 degrees.  Toss the potatoes with the oil, and salt and pepper.  Arrange them cut side down on a cookie sheet prepared with cooking spray.  Roast until tender, about 20-30 minutes.  (Check at 20 minutes) ENJOY!!

Asparagus & Tomatoes

Here in my neck of the woods, we are very blessed with some of the finest farming soil around, and fine produce is very easy to come by.  It's not unusual to see men and women standing on residential street corners selling farm fresh produce.  For a wider variety its just a 10-15 minute drive out to any one of the several fruit stands in the area.  Depending on the season, you can even catch a farmers market in town up to four times a week!!!

Asparagus season is quickly approaching us.  I HATED asparagus as a kid.  My mom would cook it one way and one way only, which was to boil the crap out of it!!  It smelled the house up SO stinking bad that I swear I turned green when she cooked it!! Thank you mom for never forcing me to eat any!!  (because I know your reading this!)

It wasn't until the first time I tasted the deep fried asparagus at the Asparagus festival (which takes place every April in our town) that I realized asparagus is not so bad!!! It's coated it in a tasty batter and then fried up to perfection.  Then its topped with parmesan cheese (the kind from a can).  And then we drizzle it with hot sauce and dip it in ranch dressing.  OH MY GOODNESS, it is SO YUMMY!!  So since that first encounter, I have become less and less afraid of the vegetable and even started to cook it at home! And not one of those times did I ever just boil the crap out of it! ;)

 

(YUUUUM!)

 

 

I spotted some asparagus at the grocery store the other day.  I took it home and started searching asparagus recipes.  I ended up combining a couple of recipes to create this very fresh and healthy side dish.  :)

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

1 bunch of fresh asparagus

2/3 C water

1/2 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 C olive oil (I used seasoned)

6 Campari tomatoes, quartered (you can also use grape or cherry tomatoes)

zest of half of a lemon (I used Meyer)

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

Wash and trim the asparagus. Place it into a 10 in. skillet with the water.  Cover and steam over medium heat for 8-12 minutes.  Drain well, return to the pan and turn the heat down to low.  Drizzle with the olive oil, top with the Parm cheese, tomatoes, and lemon zest.  Cover again and allow to sit for two minutes or until the cheese has melted.  ENJOY!!

 

 

Zucchini boats

I'm always on the hunt for new healthy side dish recipes. This is one of my favorites because it's easy, healthy and looks great! AND it uses ingredients that I usually already have in the kitchen. :) The flavor blend of the zucchini, garlic, tomatoes and the cheese combo...DELISH!!! Don't be surprised if you eat more of these than you plan!

 

INGREDIENTS:

4 Zucchini
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
2-3 TBSP Olive oil
salt & pepper, to taste
3-4 TBSP bread crumbs
16 grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 C fresh mozzarella, grated
1/2 C fresh Parmesan, grated

DIRECTIONS:

Prep zucchini by trimming the ends off and cutting in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and some of the center creating a trough. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with minced garlic, salt and pepper. Arrange grape tomatoes inside the "boats" and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 30min. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with fresh grated mozzarella carefully around the tomatoes. Place under the broiler for a few minutes just until the cheese melts and browns slightly. Remove from the broiler and drizzle with more olive oil and fresh grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheesy Jalapeno Cornbread

I had planned to make cornbread to go with last nights dinner and after pondering about it most of the day (because you know 75% of my thoughts that occur during a day revolve around food! I'm serious.) I decided I wanted to try a different recipe.  I hadn't had a chance to search for one and as I started pulling out ingredients from my cupboards I had a light bulb above my head kinda moment.  Cheese and jalapenos!!! Who doesn't LOVE cheese and jalapenos?!?!  Thankfully I had a jar of jalapenos in my pantry (high five for a well stocked pantry!) and half a block of cheese in the fridge (and a booty bump for that one!!) So here is what I came up with...

INGREDIENTS:
I C milk
1/4 C melted butter
1 large egg
1 1/4 C cornmeal
1 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C sugar
1 TBSP baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C jarred jalapenos divided (juices drained)
1/2 C cheese divided (I used Monterrey jack because its what I had, but if I had options I would've went with cheddar or even pepper jack)

DIRECTIONS:
Pre heat your oven to 400 degrees.  Grease a 8x8x2 in square pan.  Beat milk, butter and egg in a large bowl.  Stir in the remaining ingredients.  If desired, reserve a few jalapenos and a small palmful of cheese for topping. ( If topping the cornbread do so before baking.)    Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden and a tooth pick comes out clean.  In my opinion this tastes best when served at room temperature, although its pretty tasty warm too!

Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon & Garliky Green Beans with Mushrooms

Over the past four or five years, our family has develped a really fun Valentines Day tradition.  It consists of a "fancy" dinner where I set the table using a red table cloth and red cloth napkins. Dinner is served family style where everything is put into serving dishes and layed out in the middle of the table.  Typically I make plates in the kitchen, spooning things out from the dishes they were prepared in.  While growing up, my mother served EVERY dinner family style and it was our job as kids to wash all the dishes.  I've decided that it is SO unnecessary to dirty and hassle with all those extra dishes on a daily basis. Our son loves that he gets to drink his milk out of a champagne glass. The lights get dimmed and candles are lit and everyone MUST wear PJ's to dinner. (While I was in the kitchen cooking away, my husband walked in with the baby and asked which PJ's he should change the him into, I thought that was so adorable!!) Every year I serve some kind of seafood and nobody has to question if there will be dessert. :)
This year I tried three new recipes...Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon, Garlicky Green Beans with Mushrooms, and a Banana Cream Parfait.  The three turned out so beautifully! I will for sure be adding these recipes to my recipe binder.  :)

BROWN SUGAR GLAZED SALMON
(recipe from Taste of Home)

INGREDIENTS:
1 TBSP brown sugar
1 tsp butter
1 tsp honey
1 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP dijon mustard (I used 1 TBSP yellow mustard and mixed in 1/4 tsp horseraddish)
1 TBSP reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/2-3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 salmon fillet (2-21/2 pounds)

DIRECTIONS:
In a small sauce pan over medium heat, cook and stir brown sugar, butter, and honey until melted.  Remove from the heat; whisk in the oil, mustard, soy sauce, salt and pepper.  Cool for 5 minutes.
Place salmon in a large foil-lined baking pan; spoon brown sugar mixture over salmon.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

GARLICKY GREEN BEANS WITH MUSHROOMS

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb fresh green beans, washed trimmed and cut into 1 in pieces
1 C sliced fresh cremini mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tsp butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Place beans into a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes.  Meanwhile in a large skillet, saute the mushrooms and garlic in the butter until tender.  Drain beans; and add them to the skillet.  Stir in the salt, onion powder and pepper; heat through.

Mom's Coleslaw (not my mom, somebody else's mom!) ;-)

Coleslaw. One of my newest favorite recipe finds!

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

1 small head cabbage, shredded
3 medium carrots
OR 1 bag of coleslaw mix
1 C mayo
1/3 C sugar
1/4 C apple cider vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

Combine cabbage and carrots in a large bowl. In a small bowl mix together mayo, sugar, and apple cider vinegar. Pour the mixture over the cabbage mixture and toss to coat. And viola, DONE! ;-)

Balsamic & Parmesan Oven Roasted Cauliflower

I was a little unsure about this one, but all of the ingredients seem to be right up my alley so I thought...What the heck, lets give it a try!  I thought it turned out fabulous and am excited to add this one to my recipe binder!! Although I loved it just the was it was, my husband said "its a little to balsamicy for my taste".  So next time I'll try decreasing the amount I used.

INGREDIENTS:
1 large head of cauliflower cut into 1-inch thick florets
2 TBSP extra-vigin olive oil
1 tsp dried marjoram
1/4 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1/2 C finely shredded Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Toss cauliflower, oil, marjoram, salt and pepper in a large bowl.  Spread on a large rimmed baking sheet and roast until starting to soften and brown on the bottom, 15-20 minutes.  Toss the cauliflower with vinegar and sprinkle with cheese.  Return to the oven and roast until the cheese is melted and any moisture has evaporated, 5-10 minutes longer.

adapted from eatingwell.com

Grandmother's Buttermilk Cornbread

This recipe got EXCELLENT reviews so its no wonder that it was a winner at dinner time!!!  Some things are just worth the extra time and effort, and this my friends, is one of them! And besides...none of those nasty preservatives that you'd be eating with Krustez boxed cornbread. :)

INGREDIENTS
1/2 C butter
2/3 C white sugar
2 eggs
1 C buttermilk
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 C cornmeal
1 C all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS
1.) preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Grease an 8 in square pan.
2.) Melt butter in large skillet.  Remove from heat and stir in sugar.  Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended.  Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan.  Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain.  Pour batter into prepared pan.
3.) Bake in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

SWEET BUTTER SPREAD
This is one of my own kitchen creations that came out fantastic!
4 Tbsp butter; softened
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Stir all ingredients together well. :)

Rosemary Chicken in Butter Wine Sauce and Oven Roasted Red Potatoes

Rosemary Chicken in butter wine sauce and Oven roasted red potatoes
Ive made this chicken dish twice.  The first time I used 1 TBSP fresh minced rosemary as the recipe calls for.  I am a HUGE fan of rosemary, but even that amount was too overpowering for me.  So this time I used dried (because I had some in the cupboard already) and I eyeballed the amount I put in...I'd say maybe 3/4 tsp.  It seemed to be the perfect amount to meet my taste!  My son absolutley LOVES these oven roasted red potatoes.  I like to call them "better than french fry potatoes" because he seems to eat these as well as he would a stack of fries.  :)  Last night he told me that this is his new favorite dinner!

INGRDIENTS (for chicken):
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 oz each) (I used three whole chicken breasts)
4 TBSP butter, divided
1/2 C white wine (or you can use chicken broth.  I recommend using white wine, it'll give you more depth in flavor.)
1/2 C heavy whipping cream
1 TBSP minced fresh rosemary (I used 3/4 tsp dried)

DIRECTIONS (for chicken):
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook chicken in 1 tablespoon butter for 4-5 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.  (Since I used whole chicken breasts it took at least double that amount of time)  Remove and keep warm
Add wine to the pan; cook over medium-low heat, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan.  Add cream and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cook and stir until slightly thickened.  Stir in rosemary and remaining butter until blended. Serve sauce with chicken.

INGREDIENTS (for potatoes)
3 lbs small red new potatoes, halved
1/4 C olive oil
1 tsp salt and freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS (for potatoes)
Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450 degrees.  Toss potatoes with oil, salt and pepper.  Arrange, cut side down, on a large lipped cook sheet or jellyroll pan.
Roast until tender and golden brown, about 30 minutes (check after 20 minutes)  Transfer to a serving dish.

***My potatoes were done at 20 minutes***

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