Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Macaroni and cheese


Ingredients

§                     4 cups Dried Macaroni
§                     1 whole Egg Beaten
§                     1/4 cup (1/2 Stick Or 4 Tablespoons) Butter
§                     1/4 cup All-purpose Flour
§                     2-1/2 cups Whole Milk
§                     2 teaspoons (heaping) Dry Mustard, More If Desired
§                     1 pound Cheese, Grated
§                     1/2 teaspoon Salt, More To Taste
§                     1/2 teaspoon Seasoned Salt, More To Taste
§                     1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
§                     Optional Spices: Cayenne Pepper, Paprika, Thyme

Preparation Instructions

Cook macaroni until very firm. Macaroni should be too firm to eat right out of the pot. Drain.
In a small bowl, beat egg.
In a large pot, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat. Cook mixture for five minutes, whisking constantly. Don’t let it burn.
Pour in milk, add mustard, and whisk until smooth. Cook for five minutes until very thick. Reduce heat to low.
Take 1/4 cup of the sauce and slowly pour it into beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking eggs. Whisk together till smooth.
Pour egg mixture into sauce, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth.
Add in cheese and stir to melt.
Add salt and pepper. Taste sauce and add more salt and seasoned salt as needed! DO NOT UNDERSALT.
Pour in drained, cooked macaroni and stir to combine.
Serve immediately (very creamy) or pour into a buttered baking dish, top with extra cheese, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top.

Friday, May 4, 2012

German Pancakes


1 stick butter (I only use 1/2 stick)
1 c. milk
6 eggs
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
Melt butter in a 9×13 pan while oven preheats. Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a blender, mix eggs and milk; add flour and salt and blend again. Pour mixture into pan with melted butter. Bake 15 to 20 minutes at 425 degrees. (This will rise, but will not run over pan.) Cut in squares.

-From Janet Thompson

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Super Easy Meatballs - slow cooker

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds LEAN ground beef (if you don't use lean, you will have some oil to scrape off the top of he sauce after it's fully cooked)
1 1/4 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs (less breadcrumbs is a preference for some people, but I find this helps them stay together in the crock pot. You can also mix regular bread crumbs with Italian seasoning...)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (I often use dried and less than this because my husband isn't a big fan of parsley...and it tastes just fine)
2 cloves garlic, minced (I've also used dried...works fine)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped (or a few tablespoons of onion powder, if you're onion haters like us)
1 egg, beaten
You can also mix in basil, oregano, sugar, etc...depends on taste preference.

1 (28 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1 (16 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (14.25 ounce) can tomato puree (Basically you just need enough sauce to cover all the meatballs. I also add some extra flavor in the sauce. Throw in some onions or garlic or whatever you like to make the sauce pop.)

Directions
In a bowl, mix the ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley, garlic, onion, and egg. Shape the mixture into about 16 meatballs.
In a slow cooker, mix the spaghetti sauce, crushed tomatoes, and tomato puree. Place the meatballs into the sauce mixture. Cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours. (I often start on low and then finish on high...just a preference)

Directions for meatballs subs:
Take a hero roll, slice in half lengthwise and put cheese slices (I stick the the "white" cheeses - swiss, provolone, monterey, etc.) on BOTH sides of the bread. Broil for 3-4 minutes, or until cheese bubbles and bread is toasty on the edges. Place about 6 meatballs on the sub and make sure to put enough sauce without it spilling over the edges. Cut in half and enjoy! :)

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Patriotic Trifle

Directions:


  1. 1
    Cream together cream cheese and powdered sugar.
  2. 2
    Add sour cream, vanilla and Cool Whip.
  3. 3
    Mix pudding as directed and add to cheese mixture.
  4. 4
    In separate bowls add sugar to each type of fruit and let sit. You can also add a bit of orange juice to fruit mixture if fruit isn't very juicy.
  5. 5
    In a trifle dish, or clear glass bowl, put a tightly packed layer of angel food cake pieces.
  6. 6
    Drizzle a little orange juice over cake layer.
  7. 7
    Now alternate layers of berries, pudding/cheese mixture and cake til dish is full.
  8. 8
    Last layer should be pudding/cheese mixture.
  9. 9
    Garnish with fresh berries.
  10. 10
    Refrigerate at least 4 hours. This is really good made the day before too.
  11. 11
    This is a beautiful dessert and looks very difficult so get ready to enjoy all the compliments you'll receive when you bring this dish to your next event.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Winter Salad

I love this salad. I make so many variations, depending on what I have on hand but the main ingredients are always on sale in December/January so it's a great winter salad.

1 Avacado
1 Ruby Red Grapefruit (you will probably only need half of it)
2 1/2 cups arugula lettuce
Avocado based dressing OR raspberry vinaigrette OR homemade dressing (see below)
Ground black pepper (to taste)
Sea Salt (to taste)

Other optional ingredients:
Cherry tomatoes, halved
Parmesan cheese
Chopped Cilantro (2-3 tablespoons)
Fresh Basil (about 1 leaf)
Pine nuts
Blackberries (YUM!)

Optional homemade dressing:
2 Tablespoons Fresh Grapefruit Juice
1 Tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar
4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Honey
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Instructions:
Peel and "skin" individual grapefruit slices, use as much or as little grapefruit as you like -I usually use half. Keep slices whole. Cut and slice avocado. Toss arugula with dressing, salt and pepper and any other optional ingredients. Top with sliced grapefruit and sliced avocado.

Glazed Carrots

This is a go-to carrot recipe for me. I love carrots, and I find this is one carrot recipe that pleases an entire table - even carrot haters. I sometimes omit the parsley. Great for thanksgiving!

2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons spicy mustard or regular prepared mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
3 cups sliced carrots (whole baby carrots work fine too)
2 teaspoons fresh minced parsley

Preparation:

Cook and drain carrots (until crisp tender)

Melt butter in a large skillet; stir in brown sugar, mustard, and salt. Stir in carrots. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thoroughly heated and nicely glazed, about 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with parsley.
Serves 4.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Monkey Bread

INGREDIENTS
1/2cup granulated sugar
1teaspoon cinnamon
2cans (16.3 oz each) Pillsbury® Grands! Homestyle refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4cup butter or margarine, melted

DIRECTIONS
1 Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 12-cup fluted tube pan (or pie pan or 9x9 pan) with shortening or cooking spray. In large -storage plastic food bag, mix granulated sugar and cinnamon.
2 Separate dough into 16 biscuits; cut each into quarters. Shake in bag to coat. Arrange in pan.
3 In a sauce pan bring brown sugar and butter to a boil; pour over biscuit pieces. 
4 Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Turn upside down onto serving plate; pull apart to serve. Serve warm.