Roasted Carrots

Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since I blogged...well I guess I can.  I had sinus surgery in November, plus a few sicknesses and then Christmas and then more sicknesses and then my birthday so wow it's been a few busy/crazy months.  My 2 year old always wants to be in the computer room bugging me so that has made it hard to blog lately too.  Hoping for a laptop sometime in the near future.

I'm really trying to amp up my vegetable eating and I do like some vege's in their raw state, but I really am loving them lately either roasted or grilled on our outdoor grill.  I saw this recipe awhile ago, but really started incorporating it lately into our dinner rotations.  It's so easy and simple and you don't even have to peel carrots.  What I really love about roasting carrots is that it brings out the natural sweetness in them. 

If you don't really like carrots so much, try these and they'll change your mind.  3 out of 4 people in our house approve of these!  Can you only guess who doesn't.....yep, my picky son!

First up: Preheat your oven to 375.

Then scrub your carrots really well and cut off the tops and bottoms and halve them lengthwise.

Throw them on a rimmed sheet and pour a little olive oil and seasonings.  I have been using Italian seasoning, but you could use oregano or fresh oregano and fresh thyme - that's what the real recipe calls for, but I don't ususally have it in my house.  Even just salt and pepper would work great.  Anything really!

Mix everything together thoroughly to coat the carrots.  If you happen to get too much olive oil on the pan (which I've done before) just move your carrots to one side and wipe off the excess oil.  You want just enough to coat the carrots, but you don't want your carrots swimming in it.

Arrange them nicely on the sheet so they aren't overlapping each other.

Cook for 35 min.  Seriously easy and delish!

Best Mac and Cheese ever!

So let's just clarify here, I am NOT a mac and cheese connoisseur.  I could almost call my husband that really.  He had a grown-up truffle oil mac and cheese at this fancy restaurant when we celebrated our anniversary (I had a taste and it WAS good!).  Me...meh!  I've always felt like I could take it or leave Mac and Cheese.  I didn't grow up with amazing mac and cheese (sorry mom!, but it's true) and have never really loved it.  The blue box with the powdered cheese - just the smell makes me gag and yes I'm nice enough to indulge my children in the boxed variety.

My daughter (2) will eat ANY mac and cheese and my son (5) who is a little more picky doesn't like Trader Joe's and recently declared the blue box kind gross when we ran out of the Costco brand I usually make and had made some of the blue box kind.

I've been watching The Chew a new talk show on ABC that is all about food.  Clinton Kelly is on it from What Not to Wear, and Carla Hall from Top Chef (love her!), Michael Symon who is now an Iron Chef, Mario Batali (one of the great Italian chefs) and Daphne Oz (yes, the daughter of Dr. Oz).  Anyways, a great line-up of co-hosts and they all bring something different to the table - literally.  Carla is from the South and made a Mac and Cheese the other day that looked divine.  I decided to indulge my children and make some from scratch, which gasp I've never done.  I know seriously...I've been depriving them of homemade and now feel so guilty because it was SO easy and tasted REALLY good!

I'm sure I'll still make the boxed kind sometimes because it's fast, but I've found a great recipe that even Matthew will eat so I'm sure I'll be making it more often now.  The key ingredient is BACON!  We love bacon at our house.  If you don't like bacon just leave it out and use a bit more butter to compensate.  The bacon just brings the whole thing to a new level.   My husband was off to a concert tonight (he just texted me that he's so close, he can read the set list) so I'm sure he's way excited to try tomorrow for his lunch.  I can't wait to hear his review.

There are some additional steps to the mac and cheese that I didn't include in my steps, but are listed in the recipe.  I left out the breadcrumb topping and caramelized onions as both of my kids would NOT have liked either of those in or on their dinner.  In particular they've had bread crumb toppings before on their Mac and Cheese at restaurants and didn't really care for it.

AND one more thing...it isn't low-fat, but it is delicious.  You CAN indulge in comfort food just make yourself a smaller portion and eat with some salad.

Here are a few LITTLE ways to lighten it up and make it a wee bit healthier, and some additional tips for a good macaroni and cheese.

1-Use whole wheat macaroni.  I did and my kids didn't even notice.
2-Use whole wheat flour in the rue.  Once again, couldn't tell.
3-You can use skim milk for the milk part.
4-I would NOT suggest using lower fat cheeses, ugghhh...it will affect the taste.  Use a little less cheese if you want to save some calories.
5-Use light cream cheese, we couldn't tell.  I wouldn't use fat free here.  I think it would affect the creaminess of the dish and really fat free cream cheese kinda gives me the heebie jeebies.  It's very weird.
6-DO NOT USE pre-shredded cheese.  It has a little bit of wax in it to prevent it from sticking together.  Use the block cheese that you need to shred.  It will make your dish creamier AND do you really want wax in your meal?
7-I do love that my kids aren't eating all sorts of preservatives.

Ok, on to the recipe....

Carla Hall's Mac and Cheese:

1 lb Elbow Macaroni

6 strips Bacon (cooked and crumbled) - reserve the drippings

2 tbsp Butter

3 tbsp Flour

1 1/2 cups Milk (can be skim)

1 cup Caramelized Onions (optional)

1 cup Pepper Jack Cheese grated (or regular cheddar)

1 cup White Cheddar grated

4 oz Cream Cheese (can be light)

Optional Toppings

2 cups Breadcrumbs

2 cloves Garlic minced

1 tbsp Butter

Salt and Pepper to taste

-In a skillet over medium heat, combine all ingredients for breadcrumbs. Allow to toast. 

1/2 cup Chopped Parsley to garnish

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 7 minutes.  Drain.

In a saucepan cook bacon until crispy. Remove bacon.  Chop and crumble.

Reserve drippings in saucepan. Add and melt 2 tablespoons butter in same saucepan over medium heat.

Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon (or a whisk if you have a metal pan) until smooth.

Whisk in the milk, and stir until thick, about 2 minutes.  This is called a rue - just a fancy term for fats, flour, and milk whisked together.  See Mac and Cheese IS fancy!

Whisk in the cheddar and pepper jack cheeses (or both cheddars). 

My kids can't handle spice yet, so I opted for 2 different cheddars.  Did you know they don't sell orange cheddar in England?  I remember trying to find some orange cheddar my first time in the grocery store when we lived there and was SHOCKED there was no orange.  I got used to it though and find it is superior in flavor than regular orange cheddar.  I wonder why we started coloring it orange in the U.S. in the first place?  Hmm.....anyhoo...

Whisk in the cream cheese until smooth. The cream cheese keeps the pasta moist.

Stir in caramelized onions (optional), 3/4 of the bacon and pasta.   When serving, top with the remaining bacon, breadcrumb mixture and parsley.

So like I said I am not a Mac and Cheese lover per se, but do LOVE me some bacon.  I loved, loved, loved this Mac and Cheese and I think the addition of the bacon added a whole new flavor.  It was so deslish! (I just had a small bowl full).  My son (also a bacon lover) had two bowl fulls and I'm sure he'll be asking for some more tomorrow for lunch.  I would worry about my kids getting chunky if I fed this to them every day, but my son eats like a bird mostly and my daughter would only eat fruit if I let her (I always say between them they eat a full meal).  Indulging once in awhile is good for the soul!

Carla Hall's Mac and Cheese Printable Link - You can officially find it here, but I think their recipes are kind of a mess and hard to print/use.  My version is cleaned up AND on one page.

Avocado Salsa

I can't believe how the summer flew by!  We have had a super busy summer (my first not working outside the home full-time) and I haven't made the time to post.  School starts this next week for us Oregonians and with my son starting Kindergarten at 7:45 am (I know crazy!) we'll be on a better schedule and I'll be making more time to post.  I wanted to make sure everyone had this salsa for their BBQ's going on this weekend, so make it in if you can!  It's so good.


Some people call this cowboy caviar but my sister calls it avocado salsa and that's where I got the recipe.  If you've never had it before and you love corn, black beans and avocados then THIS is for you!  Oh my it is DELICIOUS!  I think it's the best one I've ever had.  It has the perfect balance of ingredients and seasonings.  So good!  It's a hit everywhere I take it and it is the perfect salsa for a BBQ.  I only made HALF of this recipe and it was still a HUGE amount of salsa.  I made it for 4 adults, 2 teenagers and 3 kids and we didn't even make a dent.  Make the full batch for a large crowd and half of it for a smaller gathering.


Ingredients:

5-6 avocados (diced)

4-5 Roma tomatoes (only use roma) (diced)

2 pkgs frozen corn (16oz bags)

2 cans black beans (rinsed and drained)

1 bunch of cilantro (cut up finely)

1 bunch of green onions (chopped)

1/2-3/4 bottle Kraft zesty Italian dressing (light works great too!)

2 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp seasoning salt

First you are going to dump the corn into a bowl.

Add your nicely diced tomatoes.  You don't want them too

large because you want them to fit on a chip.  Why Roma? 

They are firmer and have less seeds.  Perfect for this salsa. 

IF you have to use regular tomatoes, then make sure you

deseed them really well or your salsa is going to end up

super soupy.

Add your diced avocados.  I probably should have diced

them smaller, but I LOVE avocados so I didn't!  And they

ARE the star of the show so do whatever you like.

Add your black beans.  I was making this on a Sunday

morning and thought we had black beans on hand which

we didn't (SMALL SCREAM INSIDE!).  Luckily I thought

of using my pressure cooker and cooked myself some up

in 45 min.  If you use ones you've cooked yourself then

add 1 1/2 cups (drained).  They worked perfectly!

BTW-love the pressure cooker!  I'm using it for some pinto

beans this weekend for Sunday dinner - yum-o!  Pinto beans

in 45 min. 

Also, it's way cheaper to cook up a bunch of beans in a

pressure cooker or the crock pot, use what you need and

then I freeze 1 1/2 cups in individual baggies that you can

pull out of the freezer and use in your recipe and they work

just as well as canned ones, but saves you money.

Next add your cilantro, green onions, garlic salt, garlic

powder and seasoning salt.  Mix together very gently.

Next add your Italian dressing.  I would start with 1/2 bottle

for a full batch and 1/3 bottle for a half batch and mix

together before using more.  You don't want the dressing

to overpower everything else.

Use the light dressing, you can't even tell the difference

AND you are cutting out a LOT of calories.

Mix everything together and let it sit in the fridge for a few

hours. The Italian dressing helps keep the avocados

looking good and we even ate some leftovers the next

day, but by the third day it was salvageable, but on it's

last legs.

Add some chips and DIG IN!!!!  Yum...

Avocado Salsa printable recipe here

Meatless Mondays: Creamy Rice Casserole

We had a dinner party this past weekend for some of my husband's high school friends and I decided to make this.  Mainly because it cooked in the oven and looked super easy.  The hardest part is the roasting the chiles part, which my husband did so I didn't have to.

We roast our chiles on the grill, just until they are charred on all sides and then put them in a plastic bag for about 10 minutes.  Cut the chile lengthwise and lay flat, pull off the stem and scrape out the seeds.  Turn it over and scrape or peel off the skin.  Poblanos are very common and your grocery store should have them.  They are quite large so 2 should do it and I feel that extra chile never hurt anything.  Poblanos are super mild and have a really good flavor.

This is a great side dish or cook up some pinto beans and you have a complete meal which we've also done with the leftovers.

Today's Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup chopped roasted mild green chile, poblano or New Mexican, fresh or frozen
3 cups cooked rice, preferably cooked in chicken stock or vegetable stock
4 oz. asadero or Monterey jack cheese, grated
1/2 cup Crema (see below), creme fraiche, or sour cream
3 tablespoons minches fresh cilantro
Salt to taste

Crema - I haven't ever made it before this weekend, but decided to try it.  It tastes pretty similar to sour cream, but not quite as tart and is thinner.  I can't find non ultra-pasteurized whipped cream so I made the Crema with it and it turned out good so use that if that's all you can find.  If you don't want to make crema, just use the sour cream - it will be just fine.  I'll be posting a Chicken Verde Enchilada recipe where you use the crema in a homemade verde sauce as well so make a double batch if you are going to try that recipe too.

Crema
1 cup whipping cream (preferably not ultra-pasteurized)
2 tablespoons buttermilk

In a small, nonreactive bowl, combine both ingredients.  Cover the bowl loosely, and let it stand at room temperature for 8-24 hours, until the cream is thickened and tart.  Stir the crema well, cover it, and refrigerate it.  Use it as needed.  Crema keeps for up to 10 days.

Preheat the oven to 350.  Grease a 9x13 pan.

Warm the butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion

and saute until soft.  Stir in the corn and chile and cook for about

5 minutes.

Transfer the corn and chile mixture to a large bowl.  Stir in the rice

and remaining ingredients.

Here it is all stirred together.

Add your Crema or creme fraiche or sour cream and mix well
together.

Spoon the mixture into the baking dish and bake, covered, for

25 min.  Uncover the dish and bake for 5 minutes more.

The poblano and the corn together with the rice is just so nice. 
Mine definitely needed salt so make sure you add a little to
your mixture.

Spaghetti Pie and Cheddar Biscuits

 

Today's Ingredients:

1 (6 oz.) package spaghetti

2 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 eggs, beaten

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion or 1 small yellow onion

1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper (I did not use)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes (undrained)

1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 cup cottage cheese

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Get your water boiling for your spaghetti and cook your spaghetti.
Heat your oven to 350.

Meanwhile in a skillet cook the beef, onion, green pepper (if using)

and garlic.  Drain off the fat.

Stir in the undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar and oregano.

Season with salt and pepper.

 

First cook the spaghetti and drain it.  Stir in butter, cheese, and eggs

while the spaghetti is still hot.

Press the spaghetti into a 8x8 pan or a 10 inch pie plate.

Spread cottage cheese over the spaghetti crust.

Spread beef and tomato mixture and cook for 20 min. (I neglected to

get a pic of that).

Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top and bake for 5 min. longer,

until cheese melts (I used more than 1/2 cup).

So yummy!

Cheddar Biscuits

I happened to be watching Food Network on a Saturday morning and

Paula Deen was on demonstrating these and I just knew they'd be

perfect with this meal!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup shredded Cheddar

4 cups biscuit mix (bisquick)

2 cups milk

S&P

Garlic Butter - melt 1/2 stick butter and mix 1/4-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat your oven to 375.

Shred your cheeses and mix together and place in a bowl.

Add the biscuit mix and gradually add the milk.  I ended up only using

1 1/2 cups of milk or they would have been soupy.

Stir together until desired consistency is reached.  Add S&P to taste.

Scoop batter with an ice cream scooper (I used the largest Pampered

chef scoop) and drop onto a prepared baking sheet (spray with

nonstick spray.)  Brush the biscuits with garlic butter. 

Bake for 12-15 min. 

Brush the biscuits with more garlic butter when they come out of the oven.

I ended up with about 16 servings, but using an ice cream scooper you

should get about 12 servings.

We had company over for dinner and everyone loved it - yum!

Spaghetti Pie Printable Recipe

Cheddar Biscuits Printable Recipe







Oven Roasted Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Baked Fries

We were supposed to have my husband's boss over for dinner on Monday, but he didn't make his flight so we changed it to Wednesday.  I wanted to save the recipe we were planning for when he came over, but already had 4 chicken breasts thawing.  I also had some ricotta cheese in the fridge that needed to get used up so I went on the hunt for something that combined the two and found this recipe.  It's definitely worth keeping and would definitely impress company.  Rich and filling for sure!

Today's Ingredients:

1 cup part skim milk ricotta cheese

3/4 cup finely chopped pecans

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup dry bread crumbs

1 teaspoon dried oregano

6 boneless chicken breasts

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

Season salt



Preheat your oven to 350.  Lightly grease a baking dish or

cookie sheet.

The original recipe calls for walnuts and I am not a big fan

of walnuts and I already had pecans so I used those.

It didn't say to toast them in the recipe, but I did because

it adds a nice flavor when you toast them in a pan.



After they are nice and toasty chop them up.  Just under

a cup whole pecans or walnuts will result in 3/4 cup

chopped.

Mix together the ricotta cheese, pecans, parmesan cheese

bread crumbs, oregano and then I briefly sauteed the 

garlic in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and added that.  Makes

a difference! 

All mixed together.  It was less wet than I expected so

maybe use a little less bread crumbs than it calls for.

I had 4 chicken breasts instead of 6 and first pounded

them very thin and then placed the ricotta mixture on

half of each breast.  I probably overfilled them trying

to use up the filling so if you cook 6 you wouldn't have

this much mixture.



Roll each half over and secure with toothpicks.  Brush

a little olive oil on the top and sprinkle with just a little

season salt.  Bake them for 45 min.

THE SIDE

I had some potatoes to use up and it's a super easy side

to make.  My sister showed me this a few years ago

and I use it often when I need a quick side dish.

You'll need:

Baking potatoes

Nonstick spray (butter flavored preferred)

Season Salt




I used 3 potatoes, but it's easily scalable depending on

how many people you are cooking for.




First cut your potatoes into about 1/8-1/4 inch slices.

I have this cool crinkle cutter I got from pampered chef

years ago that is perfect for cutting these.




Spray your cookie sheet and lay all your potatoes

down.  Spray them with the nonstick spray.




Sprinkle them with Season Salt - I used Penzey's smoky

4/S Season Salt that is so good.  Turn them all over

and spray and sprinkle again.




That is it.  Cook them on 350 for about 20 min.  It will

be a little more or a little less depending on the thickness

of your potatoes.

So delish!

Oven Roasted Stuffed Chicken Printable Recipe