Another Healthy Mac and Cheese That Is Actually Good!

Yes! I finally found a semi-healthy mac and cheese that is pretty good that will have you asking for one more serving! My friends from home were coming to visit this past weekend, and I tried Macaroni and 4 Cheeses out on them. They had nothing bad to say about it, asked for seconds, and had another little helping as a midnight snack. Why do I say its healthy? It has 20 oz of winter squash puree mixed into it. The color mixes in beautifully with the cheese, and it keeps the dish moist and kept me fuller. The squash also adds this extra density texture, but not in a bad way. It was easy and quick to make, and I highly recommend it for a dinner party. Notes: I could only find 12 oz frozen squash boxes, so I used it all, and the dish still came out great. A little more squashy, but a little more healthy :). I also let the squash defrost fully so it mixed easier in with the milk. 4 yums.

• 1 lb. elbow macaroni


• 2 (10 oz) packages frozen pureed winter squash


• 2 cups lowfat milk


• 4 oz extra sharp cheddar, grated (about 1 1/3 cups)


• 2 oz monterey jack cheese, grated (about 2/3 cups)


• 1/2 cup part skim ricotta cheese


• 1 tsp salt


• 1 tsp powdered mustard


• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper


• 2 tbsp grated parmesean


• 2 tbsp unseasoned bread crumbs


• 1 tsp olive oil
  

Preheat over to 375'. Coat a 9x13 dish with the cooking spray.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook till tender but firm, about 5-8 minutes. Drain and transfer to a bowl.

Meanwhile, place the frozen squash and milk into a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally and breaking up the squash with a spoon till defrosted. Turn the heat up to medium and cook until the mixture is almost simmering, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cheddar, jack, ricotta, salt, mustard and cayenne. Pour cheese mixture over the macaroni and stir to combine. Transfer the macaroni and cheese to the baking dish.

Combine bread crumbs, parmesean and oil in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the top of the macaroni.

Bake for 20 minutes and then broil for 3 minutes till the top is crisp and brown.

What You Can Do With 8 oz of Sour Cream

Actually alot! I was in the mood for some stroganoff and went to my resourceful Betty Crocker Cookbook. I only had chicken on hand so I made Chicken Stroganoff. I am trying not to put in repeats on the this site, but this stroganoff was soo much better than the one I had wrote about a while ago, and it looks better ;)

4 yums

• 1 1/2 lbs beef tenderloin, about 1.5 in thick (I used one big chicken breast, cut up)


• 2 tbsp butter


• 1 1/2 cup beef broth
  
• 2 tbsp ketchup (I omitted)


• 1 tsp salt


• 1 small clove garlic, mincehd


• 3 cups sliced mushrooms (8 0z)


• 1 medium onion, chopped about 1/2 cup ( I used 1 shallot)


• 3 tbsp flour


• 1 cup sour cream


• cooked noodles

Melt butter in a non stick skillet over medium high heat. Cook chicken, stirring occasionly till browned. Reserve abotu 1/3 cup of the broth and pour the rest in with the salt and garlic. Heat to boiling, reduce heat. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or until chicken is tender. Stir in the mushrooms and onions. Cover and simmer for another 5 minutes. Stir flour into the reserved broth. Pour over the chicken and stir in. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minutes and reduce heat to low. Stir in the sour cream until hot and pour over noodles.

As I split the stroganoff recipe in half, I still had 4 oz. of sour cream leftover. I remembered that there were a few of my dessert recipes that call for sour cream and I always want to try them when I don't have the cream on hand. So I found one of the recipes I have been meaning to try out, Pound Cake with Chocolate Swirl. 2 yums. Have to say I was not too pleased. It was a bit dry, and not that moist dense cake I was hoping to get from a pound cake. The flavor was just OK, and did not really taste like a pound cake either. If I had to compare it to something, a boring muffin would be a good comparison.

• 1 cup sugar
  
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter


• 2 cups flour
  
• 1 tsp baking powder


• 1 tsp baking soda8 oz sour cream


• 1 tsp vanilla


• 2 eggs


• 2 oz semi sweet chocolate, grated (I just used whole chocolate chips because I was lazy)


• 1 tsp cinnamon

Heat over to 350'. Butter a 9x5 in pan. Mix the chocolate and cinnamon together in a bowl and set aside. Beat sugar and butter together till light and fluffy. Add sifted flour, soda and powder and beat till blended. Add sour cream and beat. Add vanilla and eggs and beat till combined. Spread half the batter into the pan. Sprinkle 1/2 the chocolate mix over the batter. Then top with remaining batter and top that with the remaining mix (I forgot this step...). Bake for 55 minutes and let cool for 10 minutes.

Season Packets...Best Cookie!

The sales just get to me! This was a 10 for $10 deal and the picture on the packet sold me....or I was just really hungry! I actually got really excited for this, hoping that it would be an cheap alternative to actually ordering my usual chinese takeout. It was really easy and quick to make, but it turned out to be surprisingly bland. To give some consolation, I had enough leftover to have the next day, and the flavors did come out a bit more, but it was still just OK. I don't think I would buy Sun Bird brand Beef and Broccoli again, but next time a seasoning packet is on sale, I will definately give it another shot. If you do choose to try it out, the recipe on the back of the packet calls for 1 large onion, I used 1/2 of one, and it was plenty! 2 yums.



My new favorite cookie is the Milk Chocolate Floretine Cookie (aka Lace cookies). My brother's girlfriend Amanda made these for Christmas, and I was hooked! I finally got the recipe 4 months later, since my mom can't get my email straight....and I made them last night! I have to say I need some practice. Amanda can make them much better. Her's come out crispy and more uniform in shape, mine were a little on the chewy side and not at all uniform, but they were still pretty good! Amanda's crispy ones are 5 yums!

• 2/3 cup butter
• 2 cups quick oats, uncooked
• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup flour
• 1/4 cup corn syrup
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt

Filling: 1 - 11 1/2 bag of chocolate morsels (2 cups)

Preheat oven to 375˚. Melt butter in medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Stir in oats, sugar, flour, corn syrup, milk, vanilla extract and salt; mix well. Drop by level measuring teaspoonfuls, about 3-inches apart onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Spread thin with rubber spatula. Bake 5-7 minutes. Cool. Peel foil away from cookies.

Filling: Melt over hot (not boiling) water, chocolate morsels; stir until smooth. (You can also microwave for about 30-45 seconds. Check every 20 seconds and stir. Spread chocolate on the flat side of half the cookies. Top with remaining cookies. Makes 3 ½ dozen sandwich cookies.

Trying to be Emeril

I had tried some Sabra's Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and it was absolutely delicious and the first thing I thought to myself was "How good would this be homemade?!" So I looked up some recipes online and the one that seemed the most straight forward was actually a recipe of Emeril Lagasse (I was very surprised by this, as his are usally very involved), Roasted Red Pepper Hummus with Homemade Pita Chips. The most difficult part of this recipe was finding the Tahini in the grocery store!

I thought the hummus came out pretty well for my first try. I didn't use the full 3 cups of chickpeas, which I think the hummus definately needed to make more creamy and thicker, but it still came out thick enough to dip the chips. At first I thought there was too much lemon as well, but the longer the hummus sat, the more I thought the flavors blended together. Also, many of the reviews on the website suggested to cut the tahini to 1/4 cup. I followed but I feel that if I had added the full amount, the hummus may have been a better consistancy, or maybe less lemony (at first). I am definately trying this recipe again, but measuring all the right amounts and see if it comes out better. 3 yums, but possiblity of 4 yums.

• 3 cups drained chickpeas (canned)
• 1 roasted red bell pepper, skinned, seeded and coarsley chopped (about 1/2 cup) (I used jarred)
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 2 tbsp water
• 4-6 tbsp lemon juice, to taste
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (I used about 2 tbsp)
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley leaves (I didn't add)
• 1/4 tsp sweet paprika

In the bowl of the food processor, place the chickpeas and red bell pepper. On a cutting board, mash the garlic cloves with 1/4 tsp salt to a smooth paste with the side of a knife, then add this to the processor along with the crushed red pepper, tahini, water, 4 tbsp of the lemon juice, 2 tbsp of the olive oil, cumin and pepper and process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. Taste and adjust the seasoning by adding salt and additional lemon juice, if necessary, to taste. Transfer to a wide shallow bowl for serving and drizzle with olive oil if wanted, and top with paprika. Serve at room temperature with the chips for dipping.

Pita Chips

Pre-heat over to 300'.

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• spices of choice (I used garlic powder and paprika)
• 4 pita breads, each split in half so you have 2 rounds from 1

Combine the olive oil, garlic and spices to a bowl and whisk. Mix onto the rough side of the pita's. Stack and cut into chip sizes. Lay on a cookie sheet in 1 layer. Bake about 25 min.

Baaaaah

Lamb chop loins were on sale! So I scooped them up and looked for a recipe online on the Food Network and found another keeper from Giada, Lamb with Chianti Vinaigrette. I liked how the reduced vinaigrette sauce added some tangy flavor to the lamb, it was a nice varience from my typical garlic rosemary rub, but I wish it reduced a bit thicker. I didn't have Chianti on me, so I used a Merlot and I only had 3 chops so I halved the wine to 1 cup and it was plenty. The wine sauce also complimented the roasted asparagus I served as a side and mixed well with Safeway Selects Cheesy Risotto, that was very good as well. Overall, this was a solid recipe, very quick and very easy! Great for beginner cooks who want to feel like they are eating well and classier with lamb chops. 3 yums

• 4 to 6 lamb rib or loin chops
• 2 cups Chianti (or other red wine sauce)
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 tsp salt, plus more for seasoning
• 1 tsp black pepper, plus more for seasoning

Place a grill pan over medium high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Season the lamb with salt and pepper. Grill until caramel-colored grill marks appear, or meat hits 125', about 5-7 minutes per side. (I don't have a grill and don't like to clean the foreman, so I just pan seared the lamb).

Meanwhile, place the wine in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Boil gently until reduced to 1 cup, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Whisk in the honey ntil dissolved. Add the extra virgin olive oil, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Whisk to combine.

Drizzle the vinaigrette over the chops and serve the extra sauce on the side in a bowl.

Cleaning out the Fridge

So I just became a homeowner! And in the process of the move, I needed to clean out the fridge of my apartment. What I call Creamy Italian Pig Pasta, is probably one of the best leftover meals I have or will ever make, and I plan on making this dish in the future, regardless if I need to clean out or get rid of odds and ends in the fridge and cabinets. Forgive the name, but all the meat's are from an oinker! This one is 4.5 yums! It was creamy, spicy and hearty!

• Fettucine
• Olive Oil- not much
• Proscuitto- cut up into chunks
• Pepperoni- cut up into chunks
• Green Pepper and Sausage Red Sauce- jarred
• Heavy cream
• Parmesean Cheese

I started the water to get up to a boil. As the boil got underway, I added a little bit of olive oil over medium heat and added the proscuitto and pepperoni. I frid tehm up for about 4 minutes to get them heated and a little crispy. Then I added some of the red sauce to warm it up. Then I added the heavy cream and stirred, enough to make a pink sauce. Once all combined and hot, I turned the heat to low. After the pasta was al dente, drain and add to the sauce and toss! I topped with some parmsean cheese!

My 15 Seconds of Fame - Washington, DC Restaurant Week

http://www.washingtonian.com/blogarticles/restaurants/bestbites/11381.html

My shining moment in the food entertainment industry. Watch a video of me and my friends coming out of Siroc, a very new, Italian restaurant in the McPherson Square area. As the video states, if there was a 10 yum system, Siroc, would get 8 yums. I would recommend this restaurant for a date out to eat. 915 15th St., NW, Washington, DC