Perfect Macaroni and Cheese

Everybody loves this good, yummy side dish and I've found the perfect recipe! It's not the easiest, but certainly the yummiest! So try it out with your dinner tonight. I'm thinking served with chicken and peas :)

Martha Stewart's Macaroni and Cheese

Adapted slightly from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The Original Classics (Clarkson Potter, 2007)

Serves 12, but easily halved

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for dish
6 slices good white bread, crusts removed, torn or diced into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces
5 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
4 1/2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese (about 18 ounces)
2 cups grated Gruyere cheese (about 8 ounces) or 1 1/4 cups grated Pecorino Romano cheese (about 5 ounces)
1 pound elbow macaroni (or other small pasta shape)

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. Place bread in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter (alternately, melt butter in the microwave). Pour butter into bowl with bread, and toss. Set breadcrumbs aside. Pull out 1 1/2 cups of grated cheddar, and 1/2 cup Gruyere or 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano, and reserve.

2. Fill a large pot with water; bring to a boil. Add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 minutes less than manufacturer's directions, until the outside of pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone. (Different brands of macaroni cook at different rates; be sure to read the instructions.) Transfer macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Set aside.

3. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk. In the same pot you used for boiling the pasta, melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook, whisking, 1 minute.

4. While whisking, slowly pour in hot milk. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick.

5. Remove pan from heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar cheese, and 1 1/2 cups Gruyere or 1 cup Pecorino Romano. Stir reserved macaroni into the cheese sauce.

6. Pour mixture into prepared dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup Gruyere or 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano, and breadcrumbs over top. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. If after 30 minutes, it's not browned to your liking, broil the topping rather than leaving it in the oven, which may cause the pasta to overcook and sauce to dry out. Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool 5 minutes; serve hot.

Spice up your pasta sauce with a little bit of healthy!

Who loves sauce with their spaghetti? I do! Who loves meat in their sauce? I do!

Who hates eating the SAME exact sauce with their spaghetti time and time again? I do!

So here's my favorite little way to spice things up every once in a while.

P.S. If you chop it small enough, your kids will NEVER know!

So here it is...

Add some veggies and meat! My favorites to add are zucchini (shown above) and yellow crookneck squash. I also added some Tofutti cream cheese substitute to thicken the sauce and give it more of a cream sauce taste and texture.

Easiest tip in the world to change up your pasta sauce recipe. Not that you needed it, but still :)

Chalkboard Cookies for Back to School

My little princess was 5 years old in April and will be starting Kindergarten in TWO WKS! I'm going to cry! She is my first to be sending off to school...

I'm starting to get all these emails about parental involvement in the school and it's a little over-whelming, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it soon. And this would be a great way to do that!

So, over at Little Birdie Secrets there is this awesome Tutorial via a Link to another blog for the CUTEST back to school cookies you've ever seen! So hop on over to Little Birdie Secrets for a fun way to kick those end of summer blues out the window and get ready to jump back into your kiddo's school schedule!

Easy Any Flavor Cookies

I have been taught, by my good friend Valerie, how to make the easiest cookies in the world. They can be made completely non-dairy, like I did, or not. It's up to you :) They can be made in any flavor as one, one just as easy as the next because all you need is a cake mix (your fav: chocolate, red velvet, lemon, spice, french vanilla, whatever you are in the mood for or happen to have in the pantry), 2 tbsp flour, 2 eggs, and 1/2 a cup of vegetable oil! Easy peasy!!

*LEMON WITH SPRINKLES*

Each batch makes 2-4 dozen cookies depending on the size you want your cookies. I make them kind of small and usually get in between 3-4 dozen cookies per batch. It's up to you. So you just empty your cake mix into a mixing bowl and add the flour in. After you mix that together, add the eggs and oil and mix mix mix! It'll get a little stiff towards the end, but that's good. After it's all mixed in just shape your balls, put them on a foil lined cookie sheet, and cook at 350 degrees for 10-11 minutes depending on how soft you want them.

*CHOCOLATE*

*RED VELVET*

Now, wasn't that the easiest batch of cookies you've ever thrown together? I thought so. They are NOT the healthiest choice, but for a child's party or as a thank you gift they are absolutely perfect. Enjoy :)

Dad's Quick Chicken Vegetable Soup

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted a recipe for you! Well I've got a good one today, actually it's from one of my favorite chef's in the world, my dad! He's what I like to call a base cooker. All his best recipes are a base that can be made into many different things. I posted his biscuit recipe a few weeks back and that is a base that can be made into pancakes, waffles, quick bread, and all kinds of other stuff. This particular recipe I just tasted to day and he whipped it up in ten minutes. I'm not joking! We all love quick and easy, and did I mention healthy? Yes, keep reading.

Do you have a hard time getting your kids to eat vegetables like I do? It is practically a fight to get them to eat any vegetables at all, it's really frustrating sometimes. Of course, they get it from me because my parents would tell you the same thing about me, "Never liked vegetables, a fight to get her to eat them every night." Well this soup is the solution! It's so yummy and flavorful and packed with the vegetable goodness of yellow squash and zucchini! So here it easy, quick, easy, and healthy.

You will need:

2 qts Chicken broth

3 chicken bullion cubes or tsp of chicken base

2 cans of canned chicken (13 oz liquid and all)

2 medium yellow squash or zucchini (very finely chopped)

1 tsp celery seed

1 tsp granulated garlic

1 1/2 tsp onion powder

3 dashes oregano

pasta noodles of your choice

Place the squash in the food processor/food chopper/blender and chop it very finely. In a large sauce pan combine all ingredients and bring it to a boil for 3-4 minutes. Reduce heat and let it simmer for another 10-15 minutes.

While the soup is starting to heat, cook your favorite noodles, drain, and set aside. These will be added to the soup as you like. If you cook the noodles in the soup or add them all to the soup, they will turn soggy over time. It is best to just add them to your bowl as would like and in the amount that you would like.

________________________________

As I was saying above, this is a base that you can use for other things as well. Here are a few of the other options.

1.) Mix together 6 eggs and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese; mix them very well to insure there are no lumps. While the above mixture is boiling on high, slowly add the egg mixture to the soup. With the above mixture, substitute chopped green onion for the onion powder, add the previous mixture of egg and cheese, and at the very end, add chopped spinach for an italian spinach soup.

2.) This mixture can be thickened with about 4-5 tbsp of cornstarch and poured over rice.

3.) You can also add 3 cups of your favorite cooked rice, pearl barley, or cooked lentils to the soup instead of pasta. The possibilities are endless!

Gluten, Dairy, Sugar... Who needs 'em?

We have been on a quest for the perfect cookie for a while, as you know from previous posts if you follow me. Well, we've almost found one! I haven't tried it with the egg substitute yet, so I can't tell if it's able to be vegan friendly yet, but this particular recipe is Gluten free, Dairy free, AND Sugar free! You can't get much better than that! So read up, and let your mouth water at these yummy healthy cookies. And please, don't knock it till you try it. Did I mention it's low carb? If you make regular size cookies, there's only about 5g carbs per cookie. Pretty awesome right?

So you're going to need:

-2 cups of cashew flour (you do have to grind the cashews, buy regular (doesn't matter if they're salted or roasted or not) container of cashews and grate them in your blender till they're as fine as you can get them. A little chunkiness is to be expected, gives the cookies a little something extra)

-1/3 cup coconut oil, found at your local health food store

-1 cup Stevia in the Raw (big green bag, cheapest at Walmart)

-1/2 tsp baking soda

-1/2 tsp baking powder

-1/4 tsp salt

-3 tsp cinnamon

-3 eggs

-1 cup Ghirardelli Semi-sweet chocolate chips, or a brand without dairy

(this particular recipe I did use about half a cup of regular Ghirardelli white chocolate chips and a full sup of semi sweet, they do have a little bit of dairy in them, but you can make them without.)

First, grind your cashew flour in a blender, or a really awesome and strong food processor, don't be alarmed when the bottom portion of the cashews stick together, it's just the oil in the nuts, and it's just fine. You just have to stir it around.

Next, add all your ingredients together in a bowl, no specific order, and mix together well.

Cook at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, time depending on your oven. They should be fully cooked and not looked gooey when they come out of them oven.

Next, they need to cool and set for at least 10 minutes before they can be eaten.

I really hope you enjoy these cookies! They are such a yummy alternative to regular cookies that you can eat a few of and not feel bad about it!

*Net carbs per cookie, about 5g each.

Easy Pasta Casserole

This casserole is something that my family loves, can easily be made non dairy, and only takes less than an hour to prepare, bake, and serve. I call it pasta casserole, essentially it's really liked baked spaghetti using garden rotini, but you get the picture.

All you need is a full box of Garden Rotini style pasta, 3/4 container of your favorite pasta sauce, plenty of mozzarella cheese (or mozzarella flavored veggie shreds for those with a dairy allergy) and cooked/canned shredded chicken or cooked ground turkey burger. (You can also use ground beef, but my gall bladder can't handle it so I prefer ground turkey. Also, turkey is less greasy)

Preheat your over to 350. In a large casserole dish or two medium casserole dishes, mix your pasta, turkey burger, sauce, and about 2 full cups of cheese together. Once mixed, spread a layer of mozzarella cheese on top, how thick you want it depends on how much you like cheese. I like LOTS so i tend to put a lot on top. Cover your dish w/ foil or a lid and put that in the oven for 30 minutes. Use a spatula to serve with so you can have plenty of that top cheesy layer on every plate. Easy and your family will love it, dairy allergies or not ;-)