Mac and Cheese

Nothing takes me back to my childhood quite like macaroni and cheese. Even the sight of that blue box makes me nostalgic. But now that I’m older and my taste buds have matured the boxed stuff just doesn’t quite cut it. So I made my own. It’s also a great way to use up any random cheese you have on hand. I probably used 5 different kinds of cheese and it was delicious.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. macaroni
• 4 Tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 cup milk or cream
• 2-3 cups of your favorite cheese(s) (I used Parmesan, provolone, cheddar, pepper jack and mozzarella)
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Preheat oven to 400˚. In a small bowl melt 2 T. butter. Add breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan melt remaining 2 T. butter. Add milk. When milk starts to boil add cheese and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper. Add to drained pasta and mix well. Grease a 3-qt. baking dish and fill with macaroni. Top with breadcrumb mixture and bake about 15 minutes, or until browned.

*I topped my bowl with some green onion for color and it also added a delicious flavor.

Steak Sandwich

If you’re looking for a healthy meal this is not what you want. But if you’re looking for a delicious sandwich I’ve got you covered! My sister, Lisa, was getting a little sick of pasta (I’m shocked too) so she requested this sandwich. I’m pretty sure this recipe was originally from Bobby Flay, but I’ve made it several times and changed it up each one. As always feel free to add your own toppings or switch up the ingredients to your liking.

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf French bread
• 3-4 thin strip steaks, or whatever looks best
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 6 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (I love garlic more than anything so I probably used about 7. No joke.)
• 1 Tablespoon basil, chopped
• Provolone cheese slices
• Tomato slices

Stir together 3 Tablespoons olive oil and the basil.

Cut the bread into thirds or fourths, depending on how many sandwiches you are making. Cut almost completely open, but leave one side attached. In a large skillet melt the butter with remaining olive oil and the garlic. Using a pastry brush spread onto bread and bake at 425˚ about 8 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Season steak with salt and pepper and add to skillet with butter and garlic. Cook to your desired doneness. Top with provolone.

Top bread with steak and tomatoes and lightly baste with basil oil.   Enjoy!

*I served this with sweet potato fries and it was perfect.

Turkey and Bacon Pot Pie

I saw a more impressive version of this recipe on an episode of Giada at Home. She made a turkey and pancetta pot pie with Thanksgiving leftovers. I decided to do something similar and it was delicious. Of course, feel free to use your favorite ingredients to make this dish your own. The crust didn’t come out too pretty so I think if I were entertaining I would use puff pastry or a store-bought crust.

I promise it’s WAY better than it looks.

Ingredients:

• Crust for a double-crust pie
• 1 cup sauteed mushroom and onions (I had some left over from my Mini Beef Wellingtons)
• 1/2 cup gravy
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 cup turkey, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 2 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled (Again, this was left over from my Bacon Ranch Deviled Eggs)

In a large skillet warm the mushrooms and onions. Add the gravy and wine and cook until heated through. Add remaining ingredients. I like my celery and carrots to have a little bite so I didn’t cook them long at all.

Line a 9-in. pie pan with half of the crust. Fill with turkey mixture. Top with the other half of the crust. Cut a few slits for ventilation and bake at 375˚ for 40 minutes, or until crust is browned. Let cool about 10 minutes, then enjoy!

Thanksgiving Appetizers

I love Thanksgiving. It’s a foodie’s dream. There’s so many different types of food and you get to sit around and eat all day with the people you love most. What’s not to like?

I’m usually in charge of appetizers. We really don’t need them because we end up with way too much food anyway, but they’re fun and I get to make new things. This year I made deviled eggs two ways, spinach artichoke dip and mini beef wellington. I hope you like the recipes. But more importantly I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

 

Classic Deviled Eggs

I had never made deviled eggs before and I’m going to be honest here: it’s not fun. It takes forever for the eggs to boil and then you have to peel all of them. But I swear they are so worth it.

• 1 dozen hard boiled eggs
• 2 teaspoons mustard
• 1/2 cup mayonaisse
• 1 Tablespoon onion, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
• Salt and Pepper
• Paprika, for garnish

Cut eggs in half lengthwise. Scoop yolks into a medium sized bowl. Place whites on a serving platter. Mash egg yolks and add mustard, mayo, onion, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Combine well. Place yolk mixture in a plastic bag and cut one corner. Pipe yolk mixture into egg whites and dust with paprika. Serve immediately.

 

Bacon Ranch Deviled Eggs

Classic deviled eggs are delicious, but add bacon and ranch to anything and it instantly becomes better. The ranch dressing mix can be a little salty so you may need to add a little ranch dressing to thin it out and add some creaminess.

• 1 dozen hard boiled eggs
• 1/2 cup mayonaisse
• 2 teaspoons dry ranch dressing mix
• 2 teaspoons mustard
• 1 Tablespoon onion, minced
• Bacon, cooked and crumbled

Cut eggs in half lengthwise. Scoop yolks into a medium sized bowl. Place whites on a serving platter. Mash egg yolks and add mayo, dressing mix, mustard and onion. Combine well. Place yolk mixture in a plastic bag and cut one corner. Pipe yolk mixture into egg whites and top with bacon. Serve immediately.

 

Spinach Artichoke Dip

I made a double batch of this delicious dip because everyone in my family absolutely loves it. My sister asks for it every time I make appetizers and I don’t blame her. It’s pretty awesome. I serve it with tortilla chips and celery.

• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
• 1 (12 oz.) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen spinach, defrosted, drained and chopped
• 1/4 cup mayonaisse
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup Romano cheese
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• Salt and pepper

Allow cream cheese to come to room temperature. Mix with mayo, cheeses, garlic, basil, salt and pepper until well combined. Add artichoke hearts and spinach. Mix well. Grease an 8×8 pan and fill with dip. Top with some extra cheese and bake at 350˚ for 25 minutes.

 

Mini Beef Wellington

So these are anything but traditional. Beef Wellington is (according to wikipedia) is a preparation of fillet steak coated with pâté and duxelles, which is then wrapped in puff pastry and baked. Duxelles are sauteed onions and mushrooms. I decided to do these an easier way and use phyllo tart shells. And I added cheese, of course.

• 3 packages phyllo tart shells
• 1 small onion, minced
• 8 oz. mushrooms, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 small steak, cubed
• 4 Tablespoons butter, divided
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

In 2 Tablespoons butter saute the onions until carmelized. Add mushrooms and garlic. Cook until softened. Remove to a small bowl. Using the same skillet melt the remaining 2 Tablespoons butter. Cook steak to your desired doneness. Fill each tart shell with about 1/2 teaspoon mushroom and onion mixture. Top with one cube of steak and a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350˚ for about 8 minutes, or until cheese is melted and filling is warmed. Serve immediately.

And as always, enjoy!

Apple Raspberry Pie

This is the best pie ever.

Well, perhaps I’m a little biased since I came up with the recipe, but it is pretty darn good. I’m constantly searching for a good pie crust recipe, however, so I experimented with this one:

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/perfect_pie_crust/.

It was pretty good but mine came out a little dry even though I used more than the recommended amount of water. Hopefully you can find a crust that does this pie justice.

It’s simple, sweet, tart and all around delicious. And great for holidays such as Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Ingredients:

• Crust for 2-crust pie
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 Tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries (no sugar added! This was difficult to find for some reason)
• Grated rind of 1 lemon
• 2-3 large tart apples, depending on how deep your pie pan is
• 2 Tablespoons butter, cubed

Preheat oven to 425˚. Line pan with half of the dough.

In a large bowl stir together sugar, salt and flour. Add berries and lemon zest. Peel , core and thinly slice apples and add to berry mixture. Combine well. Add filling to crust and dot with butter. Top with the other half of the crust. (Or if your crust isn’t rolling out nicely you can do a lattice top like I did.) Crimp edges and cut vents in top. Bake for 10 minutes, then lower temperature to 350˚ and bake 30-40 minutes more. Enjoy and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

*I learned a great tip from my mom for using up extra pie crust. Pie crust cookies! Place your extra crust strips and place them on a greased cookie sheet. Top with cinnamon and sugar and bake at 425˚ for 5-10 minutes. They’re delicious and then you don’t waste any of that delicious crust you spent forever making!

Cranberry Margarita

This post is half recipe, half product rant. I recently discovered 1800 margarita mix and it is THE BEST THING EVER.  I absolutely love a good margarita. When I graduated from ISU one of the things I was most upset about was moving away from Fiesta Ranchera. It’s a Mexican restaurant in Bloomington, IL that has half priced margarita Thursdays. Not only are they half price, they’re huge! As in 48 oz. And since Bloomington-Normal is a college community you can get a 48 oz. margarita for the low, low price of $5.50. I can’t get enough of margarita Thursday.

Needless to say I’ve tried a lot of margarita mixes or my own creations. And hands down 1800 is the absolute best brand. And better than anything I could make from tequila, triple sec and lime juice. And today being two days before Thanksgiving I’m feeling festive. I decided to make a cranberry margarita.

Ingredients:

• Ice
• 1800 margarita mix
• Cranberry sauce
• Sugar

Place about 1 Tablespoon of cranberry sauce on a plate and wet the rim of a margarita glass (or 5). Dip rim in sugar.

Fill a blender with ice and add about 1/2 can cranberry sauce, or more if you want a really sweet drink. Fill with margarita mix and blend until smooth. Pour into the sugar-rimmed margarita glasses and serve. Enjoy!

 

Cinnamon French Toast

Cinnamon is probably one of my favorite flavors. It’s so warm, it just give me a homey feeling. And I think everyone knows how much I love breakfast. Syrup, bacon, etc. It’s just awesome. So when I made this Cinnamon French Toast and topped it with cinnamon honey butter I was in heaven! Not to mention I greased the griddle with bacon grease before frying up the French Toast. Can I get a hell yes?

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf French bread
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• Cinnamon honey butter (Most stores have this kind of thing around the holidays)
• Syrup, optional
• Bacon, optional

Slice bread in 3/4-in. slices. In a shallow bowl combine eggs and milk, add cinnamon.

Fry up some bacon in a large skillet. Using a pastry brush, grease a griddle or large skillet with bacon grease. If you want to be healthy and whatnot feel free to use a cooking spray instead.

Soak both sides of the bread slices in the egg mixture then place on preheated griddle. Cook about 2 minutes on each side, or until slightly browned.

Top toast with cinnamon honey butter and syrup if you like. Serve with bacon and enjoy!

Nom nom nom.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

I first discovered my love of cooking with baking. When I was younger I would join my mom in the kitchen and scoop out the cookies or lick the beaters (obviously the best part). Since then I have branched out and learned to make savory dishes as well, but I always have a sweet spot for sweets. When I was five years old my mom asked me if I had a sweet tooth and I famously pointed to all of my teeth and said “Yeah, these!” Here is my take on my sister’s delicious blueberry muffins.

Muffin Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 egg
• approx. 1/3 cup milk
• 1 small apple, diced
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

In a small saucepan melt butter. Add apple and cinnamon and saute about 2 minutes.

In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Pour oil into 1 cup measuring cup. Add egg and enough milk to bring mixture up to 1 cup. Mix into flour mixture. Add sauteed apples. Fill nine lined muffin cups to the top.

Topping:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter

Combine all ingredients. Using a pastry cutter cut in butter until fine. Top muffin batter with topping mixture. Bake at 400˚ for 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy!

*If you prefer blueberry muffins use the above recipe but substitute the 1 T. butter, diced apple and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon for 1 cup fresh blueberries.

Creamy Spinach and Bacon Pasta

I found this recipe in a cooking magazine a few years but I have no idea which one. Everyone I make it for raves about it, particularly about the bacon. It seriously takes this dish from good to amazing. But if you’re a vegetarian, don’t fret. This would be equally delicious using butter instead of bacon fat and topping with toasted garlic bread crumbs. Just pour into a 9×13 baking dish, cover with bread crumbs and bake at 350˚ for 10-15 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. egg noodles
• 4 bacon strips, diced
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 3 tablespoons flour (More or less depending on how fatty your bacon is)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• Dash red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups milk
• 3 oz. baby spinach
• 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Cook noodles according to package direction. In a large skillet cook bacon, remove to paper towel. Cook onion in bacon drippings. Add flour, garlic, red pepper, salt and pepper. Stir until flour taste is cooked out, about 1-2 minutes. Gradually add milk. Cook and stir about 4 minutes, or until warmed through. Add spinach until wilted.

Drain noodles. Add spinach mixture and Parmesan cheese. Toss to coat. Top with bacon. Enjoy!

Crab Rangoon

Whenever I get Chinese takeout I have to get an order of crab rangoon. It is definitely my favorite appetizer/side dish. I decided it couldn’t be too hard to make, and it wasn’t (with the help of your Mom as sous chef, obviously)!

Ingredients:

• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
• 3 green onions, diced
• 3.5 oz. crab meat, flaked
• Won ton wrappers (found in the freezer section of most grocery stores)
• Small bowl of water
• Plate and damp towel
• Oil for frying
• Sweetened chili sauce, for dipping (My favorite brand is Pantai)

In a small bowl mix cream cheese, green onions and crab meat. Fill one won ton wrapper with 1 heaping teaspoon crab filling. Dampen all sides with water and fold into a triangle. If you want to make the rangoon a little fancier you can do a diamond fold like this:

Place the filled rangoon on a plate and cover with damp towel. Repeat process until all won ton wrappers are filled or until crab mixture is gone. Meanwhile, heat oil to 350˚. If you don’t have a thermometer you can test the oil by placing the handle of a wooden spoon into the pan. If small bubbles form around the spoon the oil is ready.

Fry rangoon two or three at a time, flipping so both sides are evenly browned and remove to a paper towel-covered plate to drain. Serve with sweetened chili sauce.

*To make this a meal serve with fried rice or stir fry. Like so:

Enjoy!