Baked Mac and Cheese Cupcakes No, not those kind of cupcakes. Cute, little savory cupcake-formed stacks of mac and cheese. Healthy ones, too – made with whole wheat bread crumbs and whole wheat pasta. Are you sold yet? I figured this would be a good way to sneak in some veggies. Since I obviously have to cook for myself the way a mother needs to cook for a 3-year old. When I look for vegetable recipes, I often turn to the masters of the kitchen – Giada in this case. I also have my share of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks. But I’m still stuck on the theory that vegetables taste like mud when I make them and like diamond-crusted, chocolate-stuffed bacon when someone else makes them for me. Let me just say that I loved the cherry tomatoes in here. Another thing I love is how versatile this dish is. Baked Mac and Cheese Cupcakes from Giada Makes about 12 cupcakes 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pasta 1/2 cup shredded smoked cheddar cheese 1/2 cup shredded provolone cheese 1/4 cup parmesan cheese 1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered
Spaghetti Sauce From Scratch While most of us make spaghetti sauce by opening a can or a jar, preferring convenience to the sweat and tears of homemade, making spaghetti sauce from scratch is not only simple, but also delicious. Here is an easy recipe that will be sure to impress your friends and family, as well as your taste buds. Step One: Select tomatoes The freshest and most tasty tomatoes will come from the garden - but if you do not grow your own, visit a local farm or farmer's market for the next best thing. Step Two: Prepare the tomatoes Removing the skins is important. Next, remove the seeds and water. Step Three: Brown and drain the meat If you are making a meat sauce, brown the meat (this can be hamburger, sausage, ground chicken or pork) and remove from the heat and drain, saving the oil for step five. Step Four: Seasoning Packaged seasoning is easier and more convenient and is a mixture of cornstarch, onion powder, salt and spices, but selecting is always best. Step Five: Putting things together
Stovetop Mac and Cheese Today is the first day of Comfort Week here at Real Mom Kitchen and what a better way to start the week than with Mac and Cheese – gooey, creamy, yummy, cheesy goodness. I decided to try a recipe that I found in the Oct. 2009 issue of Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food. I loved the fact that the recipe is made on the stovetop. Sometimes the oven versions tend to dry out. I also liked that it only required one type of cheese. This recipe was simple to make and was delicious. I really think you will love this version. Stovetop Mac and Cheese 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/4 cup finely chopped onion 1/3 cup all-purpose flour Coarse salt4 cups whole milk (I use 1 cup cream 3 cups skim milk)1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 pound small shell pasta or elbow macaroni, uncooked (I used fusilli)4 cups coarsely grated sharp yellow cheddar (3/4 pound)1 teaspoon Dijon mustard1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium; add onion and cook until softened, about 4 minutes.
Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells When I'm in my cooking 'zone', creative juices tend to flow and I start throwing random things together so nothing goes to waste. This recipe is a result of using up leftover ingredients I had from other dishes I prepared for the freezer. I figured chicken, pesto and cheese would work with pasta fairly well and so I hoped for the best. We enjoyed these Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells from the freezer and even my husband was impressed how these came out! I guess I'll have to make this again soon and/or experiment some more... I come from the school that any good tasting filling is versatile in different applications, whether it be stuffed into baked dough, layered or stuffed with pasta or even used as a pizza topping. This dish came about after realizing I had quite a few leftovers of pesto, cooked and shredded chicken, various cheesse and jumbo pasta shells. Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells original Joelen recipe
idaho sunrise (baked eggs and bacon in potato bowls) I probably should have poured a nice stiff drink recipe for you all on this loveliest of lovely tax days. Especially for my fellow small business owners who just gave half of their revenue back to the government. Good grief, I won’t even go there. Instead though, I thought I’d offer my idea of a more comforting alternative. Pasta. When life is good, and when life gets crazy, I turn to pasta. And just as it has for years, this one hit the spot. Read more This past Friday night was meant for celebrating. The weather was sit-out-on-the-deck-in-the-cool-evening-breeze perfection. And a very special birthday girl turned the big 3-0. Friends, meet Stacey. Read more TGIF, friends. Hope that you all have had a lovely week, and that a relaxing weekend lies ahead. Read more Ever since my friends and I met for a tapas happy hour at our neighborhood Spanish restaurant a few weeks ago, I’ve had sangria on my mind. Read more Read more I’ve always said that I like a good balance of cooking and baking in my life.
Spaghetti and Meatball Pot Pie Remember those meatballs I made for a “special idea” on Friday? Here is that idea, Spaghetti and Meatball Pot Pie. I took the concept and figured if pizza was a good pot pie, then spaghetti and meat balls would be too. This isn't as much a recipe as it is a process. I started by greasing the inside of ramekins (1 cup sized, 3 1/2” in diameter). Then I put in a mix of white and mild cheddar cheese. Next I add in two of the meatballs and sauce. Top that with some vermicelli that had been tossed in the sauce too. Another piece of cheese. For the crust, we made one order of our standard pizza dough and then cut out 3 1/2” circles. I rolled those out a little bigger and then pressed them over the top of the ramekins. Since I wanted the crust to be reminiscent of garlic bread, I made a glaze of butter, roasted garlic, parsley and thyme. I fired up Alexis' Big Green Egg to 450f and set it up in “convection oven” mode with the plate setter legs down. About 15 minutes in, they started to brown.
Buffalo-Chicken Macaroni and Cheese Recipe : Food Network Kitchens Directions Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain. Meanwhile, melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Spread half of the macaroni in the prepared baking dish, then top with the chicken mixture and the remaining macaroni. Put the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl and microwave until melted. Photograph by Con Poulos
Spinach, Mushroom and Pesto Lasagna When I was growing up, my Mom kind of took meatless Lenten meals to the extreme. Not only was it forbidden to eat meat, she was fairly adamant about making sure we ate something that we really didn't like. There were no Friday night fish fries at the Legion Hall for us. Not once in my childhood did a Phil A. So Mom... Spinach, Mushroom and Pesto Lasagna 9 lasagna noodles 10 oz chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry 1 3/4 cup ricotta cheese 1 large egg 1/2 tsp garlic powder salt and pepper 1 TBSP olive oil 1 TBSP butter 2 cups diced onion 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced dash of crushed red pepper flakes 8 ounces of button mushrooms, coarsely chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 TBSP all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups whole milk 1 1/2 cups Half & Half 3/4 cup plus 2 TBSP basil pesto 12 oz mozzarella cheese (I used slices) 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a separate baking dish place lasagna noodles and cover with boiling water. Drain lasagna noodles.
Beecher's "World's Best" Mac & Cheese We came up with this recipe when we opened Beecher's. We wanted to show our customers that you can cook with and eat great cheese every day, and this killer mac and cheese uses two of our cheeses with a background hint of garlic powder and chipotle pepper. We've already won the vote for Seattle's best Mac and Cheese, but the tens of thousands of people a year from all over the world who eat it in our store tell us it's the world's Best. serves 4 as a side dish SAUCE 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 3 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups whole milk 7 ounces Flagship cheese, grated (about 1 3/4 cups) 1 ounce Just Jack cheese, grated (1/4 cup) ½ teaspoon coarse salt ¼ to ½ teaspoon chipotle chili powder 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder PASTA 6 ounces penne pasta (about 3 ¼ cups) 1 ounce (1/4 cup) Flagship cheese, grated 1 ounce (1/4 cup) Just Jack cheese, grated ¼ to ½ teaspoon chipotle chili powder Instructions Preheat oven to 350F. Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes.
French Onion Mac & Cheese | Cake, Batter, and Bowl | Cake, Batter, and Bowl Umm, so if you’re watching your weight, you may want to click back to the last page you viewed right about now…. I tend to cook healthy dishes most of the time, but decided to go all in on this one and it was so worth it! I was in the mood for some comfort food this week, and my cute little French Onion Soup bowls were begging to be used again, so I dreamed up this French Onion Mac & Cheese! Uh huh, cavatappi pasta mixed with a creamy fontina, asiago, and mascarpone cheese sauce and a healthy dose of caramelized onions (which just make everything better!). French Onion Mac & Cheese Printable Recipe Ingredients: 6 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 large yellow onions, sliced (9 cups) 1 pound cavatappi pasta 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 2 1/2 cups milk (I used 2%) 2 cups shredded fontina cheese 2 cups shredded asiago cheese 8 ounces mascarpone cheese 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups croutons 3 cups shredded gruyere cheese Meanwhile, prepare pasta according to package directions.
LaSaGnA TiMpAnO I went to see tUnE-yArDs on Monday night with some friends, and as always we wanted to cook a meal that somehow related to the show we were heading to. Sometimes this is hard to do, but other times it seems to come naturally. Finding culinary inspiration in Merrill's lyrics seemed like it would be tough, but my sister knew what she wanted to make without hesitation. "How about something layered, because of all the vocal and instrument layering in the music?" From there we worked together to come up with this deep, colorful, and multi-flavored lasagna version of a timpano. Start by making a lasagna crust. Finally got it together. Now it's easy, just start building the layers! Alfredo sauce with some salami goes first. After 3 alfredo layers, I switched to pesto. A cheese only layer, just for fun. Tomato sauce is last. It's important to press things down as you go. In my opinion, it can't be lasagna without at least a little ricotta! I painted on some alfredo at the end as a glue. All sealed up.
Creamy Avocado Shells + the Clockless Oven Save Someday, if you’re lucky and I feel like sacrificing our dignity, I will show you a picture of our lovely oven. Chris originally thought we should name this blog “The Timeless Kitchen” because the oven has no clock. That’s right, read ‘em and weep, literally. At some point the LYK oven’s clock shorted and started beeping uncontrollably, as our smoke alarm also tends to do. For our first few months living in the LYK we had to guess what the numbers on the temperature dial were since they had all conveniently worn off. Please try not to be jealous of our super upscale kitchen. Now that you’ve had a peek inside the real LYK I’ll tell you about this recipe we made from Angela at Oh She Glows. Save In fact, it was so heavenly that I forced myself to swallow whole al dente pasta shells just to get some creamy, zesty, herby carbs in me — still can’t chew due to the wisdom teething. Sorry if the thought of that grossed you out…it really wasn’t that bad. Creamy Avocado Shells makes 4 servings