Sunday, March 10, 2024

Baked Mac and Cheese

 

When you find something that's wonderful, you tend to cook it often.  This recipe is special.  ~Shelly


Ingredients

Macaroni:

 8 oz macaroni (elbow pasta)
1 tbsp unsalted butter (or 2 tsp oil)

Topping:

2/3 cup panko breadcrumbs (Note 1)
2 tbsp unsalted butter , melted
1/4 tsp salt

Sauce:

4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup flour , plain / all purpose
3 cups milk , warmed (low or full fat)
2 cups freshly shredded cheese, gruyere best (followed by cheddar and Colby) (Note 2)
1 cup freshly shredded mozzarella cheese , or more other cheese of choice (Note 2)
3/4 tsp salt

Seasonings (optional):

1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp mustard powder

Instructions

Pasta:

  • Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add macaroni and cook per packet directions MINUS 1 minute.
  • Drain, return pasta to pot, add butter and toss until melted. Set aside to cool while making the Sauce (Optional - Note 3).

Topping:

  • Mix together Topping. Set aside.

Sauce:

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • In a large saucepan or in an ovenproof skillet (I use my 9" Lodge cast iron skillet), melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
  • Add about 1 cup of the milk and mix to dissolve the paste into the milk. Then add remaining milk and mix until lump free (use whisk if required).
  • Mix in salt and Seasonings if using.
  • Cook, stirring/whisking regularly, for 5 - 8 minutes until thickened to a cream consistency. When the Sauce coats the back of a wooden spoon, you should be able to draw a path with your finger.
  • Remove from stove, add cheese and stir - cheese doesn't need to melt.
  • Adjust salt to taste.

Assembling:

  • Pour Sauce into pot with Macaroni. Stir quickly, then pour back into the skillet (I did this) or a baking dish (Note 4). Sprinkle with breadcrumb topping.
  • Bake for 25 minutes or until top is light golden. Don't bake too long otherwise you'll bake away the Sauce!
  • Serve immediately! I sprinkled mine with a bit of fresh parsley.

Notes

1. Panko breadcrumbs are larger pieces than normal breadcrumbs which creates a really nice extra crunchy topping. Can sub with normal breadcrumbs.

2. Cheese
  • Main Cheese (2 cups) - my favourite is gruyere, for flavor and melting quality. Can use any flavored melting cheese. Other cheeses I like for this include: cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby, provolone. 
  • I like to use mozzarella for the 2nd cheese (1 cup). It melts really well into the sauce, has that nice stretch, and isn't as oily like other cheese can tend to be. However, you can just use more of the Main Cheese. 
  • Always grate your own cheese for cheese sauces. Store bought shredded cheese have anti caking agents which don't melt so can give the sauce a slight powdery texture.

3. Tossing pasta with butter provides a light coating that helps prevent it from bloating while baking in the sauce. This is also the reason why I let the pasta cool before mixing in with the sauce. Optional step - can skip it.

4. Baking dish size - 2.5 Qt  (10 cup) baking dish. A 9 x 13" / 23 x 33 dish is perfect for a double batch, a little too big for a single batch (spreads too thinly, you want more depth).

5. PREPARE AHEAD: Mac and Cheese is best made fresh but if you need to make ahead, this is the best way: Cook pasta and toss in butter, cool. Make cheese sauce per recipe, then cool with LID ON (important, to avoid evaporation). Make topping. Store all components separately in the fridge until required. Mix sauce and pasta, top with topping then bake per recipe.

REHEATING LEFTOVERS: Best way is to microwave to make warm then spray top with oil (or butter) and crisp under grill/broiler.

6. Nutrition per serving. 6 servings as a generous side - you will be surprised how far 8oz stretches with a load of cheese sauce! Will serve 4 generously as a main.
This recipe comes from; RecipeTinEatsFollow the link for step by step directions.

Jeanne's Potato Casserole



This has always been a favorite side dish for any large gathering
.


INGREDIENTS

1 30-oz bag of frozen shredded hash browns, about 10 cups (Use Mr. Dell's if you can)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter
1 can Cheddar Cheese Soup  
1/2 cup chopped green onions  (I added these.  Jeanne doesn't eat anything green)
12 oz. sour cream
1/2 cup milk
2 Cups grated  cheese, your choice  (I like sharp, pre-shredded in a bag)
1 cup crushed corn flakes

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 340 degrees (weird temperature)
Mix soup, sour, cream, milk, green onions in a bowl and set aside.
Pour 1/4 cup melted butter into a 9 x 13 dish.
Add half the package of hash browns.
Pour half the soup/sour cream mixture over the potatoes.  Spread evenly. 
Sprinkle 1 cup shredded cheddar on top of that.

Add remainder of the hash browns and then the rest of the soup mixture.
Sprinkle on remaining 1 cup of cheese.  Then cover with crushed corn flakes.
Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter and drizzle on top of the corn flakes.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour till hot and bubbly.


Old Fashioned Apple Crisp

 

This easy apple crisp is made the old fashioned way like Grandma used to make, and is perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and salted caramel sauce!



Ingredients

6 golden delicious apples, peeled and chopped (other varieties can be used, can also be sliced)

2 Tbsp granulated sugar

1 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon, divided

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

1 cup light brown sugar

3/4 cup old fashioned oats

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, diced into small cubes

pinch of kosher salt

 

 

Instructions

1.             Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Butter an 8×8 baking dish, or spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Set aside.

2.             In a mixing bowl, add chopped apples, granulated sugar, 3/4 tsp of the cinnamon and lemon juice.  Stir to combine, then transfer to prepared baking dish.

3.             In a separate mixing bowl, add topping ingredients (brown sugar, oats, flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, salt, and diced cold butter).  Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the oat mixture, using a slight downward twisting motion, until mixture resembled pea-sized crumbs.  Alternatively, you can use two forks or even your hands to cut butter into the mixture.

4.             Spread topping over apples in baking dish, and gently pat to even it out.  Bake 40-50 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly.

5.             Serve warm and enjoy!

 




Corned Beef (Flats) and Cabbage - a St. Patrick’s Day Tradition?


Corned Beef and Cabbage is one of my family’s favorite one-pot meals. The dish is decidedly Irish, and was first prepared in the United States by the Irish immigrants who settled in New England. Hence, the dish is also known as New England Boiled Dinner.

Many people serve Corned Beef and Cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day, thinking they are observing the holiday just like the Irish do in Ireland. However, St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland is a serious religious holiday and is celebrated by attending mass and serving special festive holiday dishes, never something as ordinary as Corned Beef and Cabbage. To the Irish, serving Corned Beef and Cabbage for their St. Patrick’s Day celebration would be tantamount to Christians serving tuna noodle casserole for Christmas dinner!

Corned Beef and Cabbage is a great dish to serve for non-special occasions, however, including busy weeknights. In fact, it is a quick and easy meal requiring minimal hands-on time.

In anticipation of St. Patrick’s Day, corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes are featured sale items at almost every grocery store during the month of March (including Harter House Supermarkets), which is reason enough to prepare this simple one-pot meal several times during March.

If you haven’t made corned beef and cabbage before, now is the perfect time to do so. Just make sure if you do serve it on St. Patrick’s Day, don't pass it off to your guests as something the Irish are serving on March 17th!



















Easy Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage

Corned beef comes in several varieties; flats and points are the most popular and are readily available in grocery stores.



8 Servings

3 to 4 pounds Corned Beef Flats

6 medium potatoes, quartered
1 head green cabbage, cut in wedges

Wash the corned beef and place it in a slow cooker; cover with water and cook on low at least 8 hours or on high 3 hours then low 1 or 2 more hours.

When the corned beef is tender, pour the liquid into a large saucepan and bring it to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook until almost tender. Add the cabbage wedges and cook until crisp tender.
OR, add the potatoes to the slow cooker two hours before the corned beef is done; add the cabbage to the slow cooker about 30 minutes before serving.

To serve, slice the corned beef across the grain and serve with the potatoes and cabbage and lots of real butter.

Glazed Corned Beef (points), Sauteed Cabbage

St. Paddy's Day Dinner Revisited: Glazed Corned Beef, Cabbage and Colcannon (Irish Mashed Potatoes)





It all starts with a slow cooker.  I gathered together all of the ingredients for a traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner and prepared it in my crockpot.  After that I separated the components and made three separate dishes with them.  My Corned Beef was baked in a delicious apricot-spicy mustard glaze.  With some of the cabbage, onion and potatoes, I made Colcannon enhanced with nice thick bacon, purchased from Harter House Supermarket.  Then I used the rest of the cabbage and sauteed  it with more bacon!

The great thing about this dinner is that most ingredients are already cooked in the slow cooker once, so preparing the individual dishes hardly takes any time at all.  You can even do it all in advance and refrigerate until you are ready to make the individual recipes. Also, you can cook all the bacon for the Cabbage Saute and the Colcannon at once and divide it for each dish.





Tricked Out St. Patrick's Day Dinner
Apricot-Mustard Glazed Corn Beef

Ingredients
1 large sweet Onion
4 Medium Potatoes
1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups water
Garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
2 Tbl sugar
2 Tbl Apple cider vinegar
1 (3 lb.) Corned beef brisket point
1 large or 2 small heads of cabbage, cut into wedges

For the Glaze
Directions
Place the onions and potatoes in a 5-Qt slow cooker.  Combine broth, water, garlic, bay leaf, sugar, vinegar and pour over vegetables.  Top with Brisket and cabbage.  Cover and cook on Low for 8-9 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Carefully remove corned beef from the slow cooker and place in a shallow roasting pan.
Mix all glaze ingredients together in a bowl.  Pour over corned beef.  Bake 30-40 minutes, until glaze is nice and bubbly.
Slice corned beef on a diagonal and serve.

Sauteed Cabbage
4-5 Slices thick cut bacon
1/2 of the reserved cabbage from the slow cooker, sliced into strips
1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
2 TBL Cider Vinegar
2 tsp sugar
salt and pepper to tast

Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium high heat until evenly browned.  Place on a plate lined with paper towels and cut up into small pieces.  Set aside.
  
In about 2 TBL of the reserved bacon drippings, (save the rest for later) Saute the onion until very soft.  Add cabbage and the rest of the ingredients and saute until liquid is absorbed and all is heated through.  Serve.

Colcannon  (Irish Mashed Potatoes)
Ingredients
Reserved potatoes from slow cooker
1/2 of the reserved cabbage, cut into small chunks
4 strips of bacon
1 large sweet onion
1/2 Cup half and half
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 TBLs butter

Directions
Place potatoes in a large bowl. Smash them up a bit and set aside.
Place bacon in a large deep skillet.  Cook over medium high heat until evenly browned.  Drain, reserving drippings and set aside.  In the reserved drippings, saute onion until very soft.  Add the cabbage for the last few minutes and continue to saute so the cabbage absorbs some bacon flavor.

Mix the half and half into the potatoes and season with salt and pepper.  Fold in the bacon, cabbage, and onions, then transfer the mixture to a large serving bowl.  Make a well in the center, and top with butter.
Serve immediately.



Roasted Boneless Pork Loin with Apple Cider and Brussels Sprouts

This recipe comes from my good friend Marina Backes who, together with her husband John, own Circle B Ranch, in Seymour, MO.
Find her recipe here;
CircleBRanchPork.com


Ingredients

For the pork

  • 1  4-5 lb Boneless Pork Loin
  • 2 large onions, sliced
  • 1 thyme
  • 3 Bay leaves
  • 1 quart apple cider
  • 4 springs rosemary leaves (roughly chopped)
  • 9 Sage leaves (roughly chopped)
  • 23 cloves of garlic (roughly chopped)
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil

For the chunky applesauce

  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 45 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
  • 1/2 cup apple cider
  • Pinch of ground cinnamon

For the roasted brussels sprouts

  • Brussels Sprouts (about a pound)
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Salt and Pepper

Instructions

For the pork

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
  2. In your food processor, combine the rosemary, sage, garlic, salt and pepper and olive oil to make a paste. Spread the paste on the outside of the boneless roast.
  3. Place the onions into the roasting pan and toss with olive oil. Add the thyme, bay leaves and 2 cups of the apple cider.
  4. Roast the pork at 425 degrees for 20 minutes or until a beautiful brown crust has formed. Stir the onion and check that the cider has not evaporated. You can always add apple cider if necessary.
  5. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees and roast for 30 minutes or until your meat thermometer reads 150 degrees.
  6. Let the pork roast rest for 10 to 15 minutes before carving. When ready cut the loin into thin slices.

For the chunky applesauce

  1. Melt the butter in a saucepan.
  2. Add the apples and saute over medium-low heat until the apples start to soften.
  3. Add the apple cider and cinnamon and cook until most of the cider has evaporated and the apples are cooked and very soft. Serve either warm or room temperature.

For the roasted brussels sprouts

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut the brussels sprouts in quarters.
  2. Place in a bowl and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.
  3. Place the brussels sprouts into a pan and cook until golden brown. Serve either hot or room temperature. We like them both ways!

Sunday, March 3, 2024

Strawberry Pound Cake

 

My friend, Judy, made this Pound Cake this past weekend and shared it with me.
It was very dense and really yummy.  



INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon teaspoon strawberry extract
1/2 teaspoon teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream 
3/4 cup chopped fresh strawberries, plus more for serving.

GLAZE 
1 stick of butter, softened
4 oz. Philadelphia cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
3-4 tablespoons milk


INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 1 Bundt pan. 
Using an electric mixer, beat butter at medium speed until creamy.
Gradually add sugar, beating until fluffy.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Beat in extracts.
In a small bowl, combine flour and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating just until combined.
Stir in sour cream and mashed strawberries. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 60 - 80 minutes, or until a tester inserted in center comes out clean.  Remove cake from oven and invert pan on platter, until cake drops out.

Prepare Glaze and spoon over warm cake, let stand 1 hour; 

For serving, slice and add additional sweetened strawberries on the top.