A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

Purist Macaroni & Cheese: THREE ingredients

"Mom's Extra Sharp Mac and Cheese" (Click to be linked)

Ran across this recipe when I was searching for a new baked Mac & Cheese recipe to play with. I was intrigued by the lack of a huge list of ingredients or odd spices.  It's simple: macaroni, milk, and cheese. That is LITERALLY macaroni and cheese. I happened to have all three ingredients so I had it in the oven in the time it took to pre-heat the oven.

I admit I was tempted to add salt, pepper, butter, garlic, any number of little extras but I really wanted to see how it would come out just as written. GREAT!, would be the answer to that.  There is no need for salt because of the salt in the cheese, extra would have, in fact, made the dish too salty.  And as for other seasonings, they have their place but not in this particular version of purist Mac & Cheese. I was quite content with the recipe as is, savoring the dimensions of the lovely sharp cheddar on my pasta.

One note about the photos:  I impatiently took the pics (so I could chow down!) pretty quick out of the oven, but within 15 minutes the rest of the milk soaked into the pasta so that it was creamy without being runny.   

The funniest part, to me, is that when I gushed about this recipe to Auntie Miranda, she said "Um. Yeah. That's exactly how your Grandmother taught me to make Mac & Cheese, long before the boxes."   Proof that what once was old is new again! 

Click on the link above for the rest of the details of the recipe.

 

 

Christmas Eve Traditions: Mushroom, Goat Cheese, & Spicy Chicken Sausage Lasagna

 Newlywed bride Sarah made this incredilble looking lasagna for hubby Sebastian and put these photos up on Facebook--is this not beautiful looking and scrumptious sounding? I'm going to give this one a try as soon as I get through this work stretch. 

Although I will be working Christmas Eve, I love the tradition of other friends of ours, Janell and Jerry, who always have lasagna on Christmas Eve with just their kids and then get together with all the family members on Christmas Day. I've always loved their tradition. It feels right to have your immediate family home on Christmas Eve for a cozy meal and small family night and then let the holiday bloom out the next day in all of its family-ness.

Just in case I get next Christmas Eve off...this is what Gene and I will be eating.

 

Night Shift Birthday Party: Jessica's Cucumber Sandwiches

 

One of the great side effects of work birthday parties is getting to taste new recipes like these pretty open-faced cucumber sandwiches our friend Jessica brought in.  Easy to make, they were delicious, so good Carrianne and I ate almost a container of them by ourselves (luckily, there were three containers so others could indulge too).

By the way, I'm going to start adding Cook's notes to recipes with "use this...or that..." and I've set up a new category to reflect recipes that take substitutions well.   So many times recipes can be equally good using several different ingredients and it can all depend on what you have in the pantry or what you need to use up from the garden.  Not all cooks are adept at making those substitutions the way I was taught growing up in my mother's kitchen.  Quite frankly, we were very poor and running to the grocery store for a $5.00 ingredient was rarely an option so my mother became extremely proficient at still trying new recipes while also still using her pantry items on hand.  For example, most recipes that call for asparagus taste just as great substituting broccoli when asparagus is out of season, zucchini for eggplant, or in this recipe Cavender's Greek Seasoning is a great substitute for fresh dill when you don't happen to have fresh from the garden on hand.

Ina Garten's Spinach & Cheddar Souffle

 

Aunti Miranda tortured enticed me with this pic of Ina Garten's Spinach & Cheddar Souffle she made the other night while Matt, Colleen, and the kids are in town. How yummy does that look? I can practically smell it!

Note that it calls for frozen, not fresh spinach.  Frozen spinach really is one of the best deals in the frozen section.  Think of how much fresh spinach it takes to make one of those 16 oz bags--pounds of the stuff! :-)  I always have a bag of spinach in the freezer and a block of cheddar in the fridge. Can't wait to try this one.

Thanks for sharing (well...the photo and recipe) Aunti!

Spring Break with the Nieces: Home-made Pizza, Wii, & Sleeping Under Nannie's Love

Had the nieces: Jordan, Holli, and Sydney over for a couple of days over spring break which was great fun!  Friday night we made homemade pizza's.  Homemade, as in Sandra Lee homemade--70% store, 30% fresh--and it worked out great. We used white and honey wheat store-bought bread douigh as the base and jarred pizza sauce.  From there, everyone added their own favorite toppings in whatever quantities they wanted:  ground beef, sausage, pepperoni, onions, mushrooms, Italian mixed cheeses, and Colby/Monterrey Jack mix.    The bread dough made a great crust: sturdy crsip bottom with perfect chewiness inside, and as thick or thin as we cared to roll it out.

Jordan and Holli challenged each other to Wii...allllllllllll night looooooooooong.  I think they gave it up about 3am Saturday morning before heading to bed.  Jordan ruled in bowling and tennis, I believe, and Holli ranked in baseball and boxing.  Not too bad considering she was wearing a wrist splint.

New Cookbook: Ciao Italia, Five Ingredient Favorites

 
Ciao Italia: Five Ingredient Favorites by Mary Ann Esposito, Host of PBS show "Ciao Italia"

I received a copy of this cookbook around my birthday and have been wanting to try a couple of things since it hit my hands. Although I enjoy cooking, and love cooking the long way around with multi-step, long prep recipes, there are times when I like to throw dinner together in an easier manner and with fewer ingredients, like on my sleep days after working all night.   Sometimes less really can be more.

The basic premise of the book, as a matter of fact, is that less can be more with a rule of five. Five basic pantry items like olive oil, dried pasta, canned tomatoes, onions, and red wine, or five refrigerator basics that include high quality cheese.  From basic items you can create simple but satisfying meals.

Yesterday was my test run. I'd worked the night before in Pediatrics and was worn out even after sleeping seven hours. (You think one cranky sick six month old is harrowing, try multiplying that by a half dozen at one time. grin. ) But even with a draggy butt, I was determined to continue my quest this year for wholesome food and not give in to the convenience of the drive thru.  Did making pasta scare me considering I'm trying to eat healthier and lose weight?  No, because my goal this year is to teach myself to eat good wholesome NORMAL food but to do it in a smart way. With pasta, it's about the ingredients and the portion size.  So many formal diets make pasta and fruit out to be evil.  NO, carbs are not evil. If anything can be pointed a finger at it's the ginormous restaurant portions that we've come to think of as normal. 

Already having the five ingredients in my pantry and fridge, in under 30 minutes last night I was able to prepare:  Coal Miner's Spaghetti (Carbonara) and the Fennel, Apple, and Carrot Salad, then I added a side of steamed squash that needed to be used and we ate divinely while hopping from other shows back over to the Super Bowl trying to espy the new commercials.  Was it just us or were they sadly lacking this year?

A note about the Carbonara.  I don't know if this is true everywhere but here in the Ozarks, Pasta Carbonara is on every Italian restaurant's menu but I've never seen a true carbonara. It's usually just fettuccine or spaghetti alfredo with some bacon thrown in.  True carbonara, like this recipe, has no cream or butter, eggs make the "sauce", and for that reason it's almost much healthier so I've included nutrition counts (and comparison alfredo counts) following the recipe.

How to describe our enjoyment of this dish. Let me see...How about like this?  I measured out my one cup of pasta and wanted more but made myself simply savor every bite.  Gene ate the rest.  I think I need to teach him how to make this!

Good AND Good for you: Creamy Cucumber Dip

 

So simple and yet so rewarding, this is a summer constant in my work lunchbox and snack around the house. Only three ingredients that pack an all-out taste power punch:  creamy for the tongue, crunch for the teeth, and salty herby for the psyche pleasure zone.

We eat this primarily as a dip on good fibrous tough stuff crackers or I love it as a sandwich on wheat or rye bread. Middle-of-the-night Afternoon Tea, anyone?

An added pleasure is anytime the cukes come from your own garden. Sigh.  The best part of summer is the garden!

Caprese Salad with Pickled Green Tomatoes

 

Auntie Miranda went with friends to The Keeter Center in Branson for dinner the night before last night.  The Keeter Center is the small hotel and dining room run by the Hospitality Dept of School of the Ozarks.  And run very well.  We have a respiratory conference down there that's dynamite as a conference and The Keeter Center as a venue is superb.

In the dining room, Auntie chose this Caprese salad with fresh red and pickled green tomatoes.  She said she took one bite, rolled her eyes in delight, and said to the waiter "Can I get one of these to go?"  I went to bed early that night but it was waiting for me in the fridge when i got up the next day. 

Wow. I don't know how much better it could have been fresh because it was still incredibly fresh, crispy, and wonderful the next day.  This is definitely a do at home thing too. I know you can buy green tomato pickles, or even better would be to can them from the garden.  I'm thinking even fresh green tomatoes mixed with red tomatoes and fresh mozzarella would be wonderful fresh out of the garden....maybe drizzle a little honey across the top with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar to add that sweetness from the pickling syrup.

Thanks Aunti Miranda! What a lovely and healthy lunch. We'll definitely be working on a home recipe for this one!

Breakfast Starts the Day off Right. Right? Right! Cornbread Frittata

 

One of the things I've been changing about the way I eat since I've been following the Mediterranean Diet path is the way I approach breakfast.  Like a lot of people I either tend to skip breakfast or eat all the wrong things.  For example, I work the night shift so when I get off shift in the morning I'm starving and ready to eat pretty much anything and everything. Technically, for nightshifters, the a.m. is our dinner time.  We eat breakfast when we get up around 4pm, lunch at 1am, and dinner for breakfast, but I've really been trying to get back into a more traditionally routine eating pattern even when I work, especially since working 12 hour shifts, we don't work a five day work week.

What I've found through experimentation is that when I choose wholesome whole grained foods for breakfast that also contain a serving of fruit and/or veggies I have a much better day over all whether I'm up or sleeping for the day.  We all know basic nutrition.  Whole grains and fresh produce last longer in our systems because they're nutritionally dense and take longer to break down, creating a more even supply of glucose instead of the normal sugar/caffeine high and low of Krispie Kremes, Cocoa Puffs, and Caramel Mocha Coffee.  Weight Watchers call these nutritionally dense foods simply "filling" foods.  I'm experimenting with a lot of different things but I'm finding, so far, that egg dishes with fresh veggies and cereals like Irish oatmeal or Grapenuts with a side of fruit hit the spot and last all morning.

Do I Have the Greatest Auntie in the World, Or What?

One of mine and Auntie Miranda's favorite stores in town, The Cheddar Block, has started a Thursday night wine & cheese tasting. I didn't get to go but she and Uncle Paul did. I didn't think anything about it until they pulled up in my driveway bearing a gift sack.  Holy Cow Milk (and sheep's milk).  What a haul.  I'm speechless. This is absolutely so sweet.

Cheeses:  Formaggi Podda,  Prima Donna (had that, wonderful!), Port Salut (yum!), Old Amsterdam, Basil's Rauchkase, and Horseradish Cheddar (be still my heart, two of my favorite flavors mixed together). She brought recipes from the event too.

Thank you, Auntie! Lunch(es) are on me next time!