The Best Damn Mac and Cheese EVER!

Now I like the other mac and cheese recipes I have posted on my blog. BUT, to be completely honest nothing comes close to this recipe. I happened upon a Martha Stewart video of her making this mac and cheese. She said it was her mothers recipe. So it looked simple enough and was different as it uses white cheddar. I was intrigued and decided to make it. It has been the only mac and cheese I have been making ever since. Even my kid that is not a mac and cheese lover loved it.This is beyond delicious in my families humble opinion. I can't really tell you why it is so much better other than recipes but it must be that the white cheddar is key to it. It just would not be the same with yellow cheddar. She said why white cheddar is better but honestly I have slept since then and don't remember what she said.
It is in my opinion pretty easy to put together. I will list her recipe and then any changes I made. I really didn't make many. The changes were small and not really important to the end result flavor wise.


This makes a 9x13 pan of mac and cheese.

6 slices of bread, crust removed, and torn into 1/4" pieces. (I USED PANKO BREAD CRUMBS THE SECOND TIME AND LIKED IT MUCH BETTER. I just measured the amount I thought looked good for the top and tossed with the melted butter. )

8 Tbl. butter, plus more to grease the pan (I used cooking spray for the pan)
5 1/2 Cups whole milk
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp. kosher salt + salt for pasta water
1/4 tsp. pepper (I used at least 1/2 tsp.)
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg (I used the nutmeg nut itself and just used a micro plane grater till I liked how much it looked like in the sauce. If you use the nut you could grate it in a bowl and measure out the right amount.)
1/4 tsp. cayenne (don't skip this as I think it is an important element. It was not spicy at all. You certainly could add more if you want a little kick.)
18 oz. (about 4 1/2 cups) sharp white cheddar cheese, grated and seperated into 3 cups and 1 1/2 cups. The  1 1/2 cups is for the topping)
8 oz. (about 2 cups) shredded gruyere cheese, seperated. Put 1 1/2 cups with the 3 cups of cheddar and lightly toss. Then add the rest to the 1 1/2 cups of cheddar that is for the topping and lightly toss and set aside.) DONT MIX THEM UP! Remember which is for the topping and which is for the sauce.
1 lb. elbo macaroni (you can use any small pasta that is about the size of elbo macaroni)

heat oven 375 degrees and butter your dish.

Place bread in bowl and mix 2 Tbl. melted butter (from the 8 Tbl. the recipe calls for) toss. I used panko crumbs here and we just liked it better. Same process. Set aside.

NOTE: I start the water (salt the water)  now for the pasta and try to time the pasta and sauce to be done about the same time. Nothing will be ruined if one is done before the other.

Heat milk slightly (I have a large measuring cup and I just microwaved the milk till was no longer cold)
Melt remaining 6 Tbl. butter in a large sauce pan that will hold you milk and cheese.  When it bubbles add the flour and whisk and mix for about 1 minute.
slowly pour in the milk a little at a time and stir till it thickens. I did it in three additions. Stir milk/flour mix till it thickens (you arent looking for a super thick sauce now, but just thickens up. I usually let it come to a boil and stir  then turn off the heat. At that point it is thick enough.)
Add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, cayenne and the 3 cups cheddar and 1 1/2 cups Gruyere. Stir till it is melted and test for seasoning. It should not be bland. Add salt if needed. It should have a nice rich flavor. Remember you are putting this on pasta so you don't want it under salted.

Pasta: cook pasta about 3/4 of the time it calls for. There is a lot of sauce and you want the pasta to soak it up as it bakes. Drain and rinse the pasta in cold water and then drain well. Add to the sauce.

It will look like a lot of sauce and you might be tempted to not add all of it. I did this the first time and regretted it. Trust me it will bake up just fine.

Pour into prepared baking pan and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Then sprinkle bread crumbs over the cheese.
Bake in pre-heated 375 degree oven for about 30 min. till bubbly and lightly browned on top.

ENJOY!

Chicken and Bacon Mac and Cheese

This is a good stove top mac and cheese that you don't have to make a rue for. So for a quick and complete meal give it a try.

Here's how:

16-17 ounces pasta (you can use whatever shape pasta you want to.)
3 Cups whole milk
4 Tbl. butter
8 ounces velveeta, cubed
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
6-8 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded 
1/4 tsp. Lowry's season salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup frozen peas

1 package of bacon chopped into small pieces and fried till crisp. Drain on paper towel and discard bacon grease.

4-5 chicken breasts
Montreal chicken seasoning

season chicken with the Montreal Chicken seasoning and fry in a little oil till cooked through. Remove to a plate to cool slightly. Then cube and place back on plate. Keep any juice from the chicken that gathers in the plate.

Start pan of salted water and cook pasta according to directions. Don't over cook the pasta. While pasta is cooking make the cheese sauce. In a large enough pot to hold the finished meal heat up milk and add the butter. Stir till butter melts and add the velveeta and stir to melted and smooth. Next add the shredded cheddar cheese and gruyere cheese, stir till melted. Add the Lowry's salt and the pepper. Stir in the cooked pasta and add the bacon, chicken (and any juices in the plate) and peas. Stir till all incorporated and heated through,. Adjust seasoning if needed.

Enjoy!

Baked Mac and Cheese

This is my most recent Mac and Cheese recipe. After much research this is what I came up with and it is wonderful. Give it a try.
Heres what I do:


Macaroni and Cheese 
 

5 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

White Sauce

½ cup good quality butter

¼ Cup flour

3 ½ cups whole milk

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. Lowerys season salt

½ tsp. ground black pepper

Two sprigs thyme leaves stripped from stalk

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

Pinch of nutmeg

2 tsp. dry mustard

8 ounces greyer cheeses, shredded  

12 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

4 ounces velveeta, cubed

Topping

 1 cup Panko bread crumbs

 4 ounces Cheddar cheese

 ½ cup Parmesan cheese

Mix the topping ingredients together and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and boil pasta till al dente (no more or it will be mushy when done.)

While the water is heating and coming to a boil start the white sauce. Measure the milk into a large measuring cup or bowl and add in the salt, lowerys season salt, black pepper, thyme leaves, cayenne, mustard and a scant pinch of nutmeg or grate small amount of nutmeg into the milk and whisk together. Set aside.

 In a pan melt butter over medium high heat. Add flour and whisk till blended with flour and cook for a few minutes. Pour milk into the cooked flour and whisk together. Cook till thickened. About 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the Gruyere, Velveeta and cheddar cheese. Stir till cheeses are melted. Taste for salt. You want it to have plenty of salt so that when put on the pasta it isn’t tasteless. When the pasta is cooked, drain well and add to the cheese sauce. Stir together and put into a casserole dish. Top with panko/cheese mixture. Bake 30 minutes in preheated 350 degree oven.

Enjoy

Mung Bean Pasta noodles with Mediterranean artichoke, olive and tomato sauce

Now you can use any pasta you want. We are
trying to eat healthier so I found these fettuccine noodles made from Mung beans and water. Simple and they taste great. They make a wonderful pasta replacement. Here is a link to where they can be purchased. It is a Raw Food web site but you can (and we did) cook the pasta. They soak them for a few days to soften them without cooking them to keep the raw food state of the pasta.
http://www.therawfoodworld.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=100148_100540

Ok, so here is the sauce I made to go over the Mung bean noodles.

Mediterranean Pasta with Artichokes, olives, and Tomatoes
Prep: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Serves 4

Salt and Pepper
12 ounces spaghetti (I used two packages of the mung bean fettuccine and it was 14 ounces all together)
2-4 Tbl. good olive oil
1/2 med onion (I used a whole one) sliced in slivers
2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 can artichoke hearts (not marinated) rinsed, drained,  and quartered
1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives, quartered
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
1/2 Cup fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces

In large pot start water boiling and add salt. You will cook the pasta according to directions (for the mung bean pasta, I cooked it for about 6 minutes till I liked the bite it had.  Regular pasta follow directions) when done,RESERVE 1 CUP PASTA WATER FOR THE SAUCE IF NEEDED,  rinse in cool water and set aside to drain.
Now, in a large skillet, heat 1-2 Tbl. olive oil and add onions. Cook for about 3 minutes and then add the garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for a few more minutes and then add the wine. Cook till the wine is mostly evaporated.
Stir in the artichokes and cook for 3 minutes. Add the olives and half the tomatoes. Cook till the tomatoes start to break down. At this point at the cooled drained pasta and the remaining tomatoes, cheese, basil and 2 Tbl. olive oil. Toss to coat the pasta. Add as much reserved pasta water as need to bring the sauce together. You may or may not need it. Stir and toss to coat and heat through.  Serve with additional Parmesan cheese to taste.

Cowboy Spaghetti

This is a take on Rachel Rays cowboy spaghetti. It is pretty wonderful. You can serve it like traditional spaghetti or layer it with cheese and make it a baked spaghetti (which is how I like to do it.)

Cowboy Spaghetti: Serves a ton of Sasquatches. You can easily half it.

2 lbs. spaghetti noodles
2 Tbl. olive oil
1 lb. apple wood smoked bacon (is there any other kind?)
2 med. onions chopped
2 lbs. good ground beef (you know I grind my own. )
1 head (yes a head) of garlic chopped (we love us some garlic)
salt and pepper
4-6 tsp. hot sauce (this is just a personal taste thing. I like lots. You can always add more to your plate of spaghetti to amp it up.)
2 Tbl. Worcestershire sauce
1 (12oz.) beer
2 (14 oz.) cans crushed or chopped fire roasted tomatoes (I think the fire roasted is important. It imparts a great flavor)
1 (14 oz.) can tomato sauce
16 oz. sharp cheddar cheese

(Use a cast iron skillet if you have one. I just believe there is nothing better than the flavor a cast iron skillet gives food, particularly meat.)
Heat skillet up and add the 2 Tbl. olive oil. Cut the 1 lb. of bacon up into bite size pieces and fry in hot pan with olive oil. When brown remove bacon with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl. Drain off some of the bacon fat so that you have a nice standing coating of grease left in the pan. Place hamburger meat in pan and spread out and let it sear before stirring. Add onions and continue to stir around the meat and onions till the meat and onions are almost cooked. Add the garlic and stir this around for 2 minutes. Then season with salt and pepper to taste and add the hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Stir and pour in the beer and stir this good. Let this cook for 1 minute and then add the cans of tomatoes. Stir to combine. If it seems too soupy let it cook down a bit. It should resemble this pic when its about right. Add back in the bacon and stir. You can turn off heat at this point and get the spaghetti noodles cooked. If you aren't baking it then you will want the noodles to be close to done when the sauce is. If you are baking it then you can just turn off the burner and get your noodles cooked. Drain spaghetti and pour meat sauce and toss. If your baking it then layer half a  9x13 pan with the spaghetti/meat sauce and top with 8 ounces of sharp cheddar cheese and then another layer of spaghetti/meat sauce to fill the pan and top with another 8 ounces of sharp cheddar. Bake at 350 degrees till hot and bubbly and cheese is melted on top. Because everything is usually hot when I put it together it never has to bake more than about 15 minutes. If you are not baking it then just serve it up with cheese on top of the individual servings. You can garnish with green onions if you are so inclined. ENJOY!

Pasta with Meatballs

My Sasquatches love it when I make Italian meatballs. I don't do it often enough. It is a little work intensive but worth it. We will have pasta one day and then they make the left over meatballs into meatball subs with mozzarella on top. They are happy. I also freeze bags with 4 meatballs and sauce in each. That way they can just take out one freezer bag and they have all they need for a sub.
This recipe is inspired by a recipe by Wolfgang Puck. I have changed it over time to our liking.

Here's what I do: I double this recipe for us.

Meat balls:
1 1/2 pounds lean eye of round roast
1/2 pound pork loin (I buy center cut boneless pork chops as they are just sliced pork loin. Now not tenderloin, just loin roast.)
1 head garlic roasted (I peel all the garlic cloves and lay on foil. Drizzle with olive oil and add salt and pepper. Wrap up in the foil tight and bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes till they are very soft. When done place in bowl with any olive oil from the packet and mush with a fork.)
 2 eggs beaten
1/2 cup italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese ( I grind my fresh parmesan up in the food processor and then mix with a good quality container of Kraft parm from the store. It stretches the good parm out and you still get the great flavor and more for the money.)
1 tbl. minced parsley
1 tsp. white vinegar
1/2-1 tsp. salt
 1/2 tsp. black pepper

Clean and remove any fat from the meat. Cut into chunks and grind up in a food processor till meat is completely ground up. 

 Place all the meat (beef and pork) in a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix with your hands till completely mixed together. Using a 2inch stainless steel scoop scoop out some meat and roll into a ball in your hands and place on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. You will then place them in the pasta sauce that should be cooking on the stove while these are baking.

Red Sauce:

1/4 Cup olive oil
1 med. chopped onion
1 head of garlic (whole head not just one clove) minced
1 can tomato paste
1/2 can of msg. free beef broth
2 (28oz.) cans of good quality canned tomatoes. I like to use Hunts fire roasted or Cento Sam Marzano Italian tomatoes. Chopped if you can find them.
1/2 Cup red wine
1/4 cup chopped pepperoni
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 cup fresh chopped basil
salt and pepper to taste
Put olive oil in large pot and heat over med-high heat. Saute onion in oil till onion is translucent. Add garlic and cook for a minute. Then add the can of tomato paste and stir constantly till the paste turns a darker shade of red. Pour the beef broth in and the wine. Stir to dissolve the tomato paste. Stir in the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and using an emmersion blender blend the sauce till most the tomato chunks are gone (this is optional. My Sasquatches don't like chunks of tomato so I blend them up.)
Time it so that after the sauce has cooked for 30 minutes the meatballs are coming out of the oven. Place the meatballs in the sauce and simmer lightly for another hour or so. Serve with pasta and Parmesan cheese.

Pasta with Green Olive Sauce

My husband and I love olives. We really like just about any kind. Black are pretty dull as they aren't full of flavor. We wouldn't turn a black olive away though.  Now I don't know if he remembers but I made this for my Daddy a few times and he loved it. Of course like us he loves olives. I think my husband married me because of this sauce (I'm not sure though.)
Now if you aren't a fan of olives you aren't going to like this. BUT, if you like olives you will love this sauce. It is good.

Here's what I do:
1/4 Cup vegetable broth (or stock)
1/4 Cup Olive oil (extra virgin)
4 cloves of garlic, fine chop
1 Cup PITTED and fine chop green olives (you can mix any variety together. I just would not do straight black olives.)
3/4 Cup toasted bread crumbs (1 Tbl. olive oil to hot pan and add in fresh bread crumbs. Stir till golden and remove from pan.)
 1 lb. spaghetti noodles

Heat olive oil in pan. Add garlic and cook for a minute or so and then add vegetable broth and stir for a minute. Add olives and saute another minute. Add cooked pasta and stir. Add bread crumbs to pasta and mix. If too dry add a little pasta water  and mix. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Lasagna Bolognese

I am almost speechless about this lasagna. It is hands down the best lasagna I have ever ever.....EVER had. It is also very different than what I'm use to.. YUM.
This recipe came from The Homesick Texan (I think. It's been a while since I found it.)
All I can tell you is that it was hands down the best lasagna I have ever had and my husband said the same thing. He just kept repeating all through our meal how wonderful it was. This is now my go to lasagna. I had intended to really be energetic and make home made lasagna sheets but I got to busy and decided to just cheat and use the store bought noodles.
So here it is. Enjoy!
Now the bolognese sauce is a long cooking sauce. I ended up only cooking mine about 1 1/2 hours. I started to late to let it go the 3 to 4 hours they say it should. It was still perfectly wonderful.
Start with the bolonese sauce first.

You will also need
 a large box of lasagna noodles

2 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese (now here is my cheat on Parmesan cheese. I buy a good huge block of parm at Costco. I then buy the Kraft Parmesan/Romano/Asiago shredded cheese. I grind up the good Parm I purchased at Costco and blend it with the store bought parm. It makes the expensive stuff go further and still gives the great flavor of the better cheese. I know its horrible. I should have my kitchen apron taken from me. But when you feed a house of Sasquatches you got to cut those corners where you can. If you can afford the good stuff exclusively then go for it and I love you.)

2 Cups or so of good Mozzarella cheese shredded



 Bolognese
In a food processor add
 one onion cut into fourths
2 carrots (if they are small thin carrots add 4) cut into chunks
2-3 ribs of celery cut into chunks
4-5 cloves of garlic minced
chop the veggues fine in the food processor.
4 Tbl. olive oil
salt and pepper (you will use a lot of this for seasoning)
2-3 pounds good quality ground beef (chuck, sirloin. I grind my own as I have ground beef issues. I used a 2.8 pound eye of round roast that I ground up in my food processor.)
2 6oz. cans good quality tomato paste
2 Cups red wine ( we used a good quality Chianti. You should never cook with a wine you wouldn't drink.)
water (I will tell you how much in the instructions.)
2 bay leaves
4 fresh sprigs of thyme

Place a 5 or 6 quart pot on the stove. Let is become hot and add olive oil. Once the olive oil is hot add all the veggies you ground up in the food processor. You are going to want to get a good carmelization on these veggies as this brings out a lot of flavor. So you are going to cook them till they kinda brown and  there is a little brown stuff on the bottom of the pan. This my friends is where the flavor is. Now you will add a good amount of salt to the veggies as they are cooking. I'm sorry I didn't measure the salt. I just eyeballed it. Not helpful I know but if you under salt the dish it will not have the flavor you want. So season generously with salt and pepper.
After you have a nice browned veggie mess add in the ground meat and again season generously with salt and pepper. You want to sear this off as best you can (again the flavor is in the browned bits.) Stir and cook till the meat is cooked through and then add both cans of tomato paste. Stir this around and brown. This will take about 5 minutes. It will become a rust color. Just let it cook for a sec and then stir and let it cook for a second and then turn etc....Once it has browned for a few minutes add the red wine and stir to blend everything. Cook a couple minutes scraping up any brown bits that are on the bottom of your pan. Cook for a few minutes till it really starts to thicken and then this is where the water comes in. You are going to add enough water to raise the level two to three inches (normally what would happen is you would add the initial water and cook it down and then add two more cups of water and cook it down and so on for 3 to 4 hours. But since I didn't have time for that whole game this is what I did.) You should have a good size pot of sauce. Turn it down to a simmer add in the bay leaves and the sprigs of thyme. Cook stirring frequently for about an hour to hour and a half.
Now when the sauce is done remove the bay leaves the the thyme stems. Check for seasoning. You should not have to add anymore water. If you do you are cooking it at too high a heat. Just add a tiny amount of water if you have to if it cooks down too much during the hour of cooking.
Now onto the noodles and bechamel sauce.
Now that the meat sauce is done put a pot of water on to boil your noodles. Cook the noodles in good salty water. While the water is heating up and coming to a boil make the bachamel sauce. Here is how you do it.

Bechamel Sauce
1 stick of unsalted butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 cups whole milk
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic minced
fresh ground nutmeg (use dried if you don't have fresh. You will use a couple good pinches of nutmeg)
fresh ground pepper

Melt butter in a sauce pan. Sprinkle flour over butter and whisk together. Cook for a minute to cook off the flour taste and then pour in a little of the milk. Stir as it thickens and then add a little more milk and stir as it thickens. Repeat the process till all the milk is used up. Season with salt/pepper/nutmeg/garlic. Stir till it thickens up and is like a gravy consistency. It should coat the back of a spoon. Taste for seasoning. Again we want it flavorful so be generous with your salt/pepper. You want the nutmeg to be a back note. Kinda like when you exhale after tasting the sauce you get the nutmeg but not over powered by it when the sauce hits your tongue. Sorry kids this is the best I have for helpful directions. Now set it aside and stir often so it doesn't get a film on top while the noodles are cooking. Hopefully by now they are in the pot of hot water cooking according to package directions. Drain the pasta and run under cold water to stop the cooking process and then drain them again and lets start the assembly.

In a lasagna pan (I have a pan that is a little long than the standard cake pan that I make my lasagna in but a cake pan size will work 9x13. I also use glass pans. Use what you got.)

Place a couple ladles of meat sauce in bottom of the pan and spread out evenly. Lay a layer of noodles on top making sure to cover the entire bottom of the pan. Ladle another couple 2 or 3 ladles of meat sauce over the the noodles and spread out evenly. Then ladle a couple ladles of the bechamel sauce over the meat sauce and spread the best you can. Sprinkle with some of the parm and mozzarella and then another layer of noodles. Do this till you have your pan full ending with noodles and then topping with one last layer of meat sauce and then parm cheese. I had 4 layers (your shooting for 4 to 5 layers if you can) of noodles counting the bottom and the top layer. You may have extra sauce left over of both the sauces. Thats ok. The meat sauce can be used over spaghetti. I just got rid of the left over bechamel sauce. There wasn't much of either left.
Bake  at 400 degrees for about 40-45 minutes. I ended up covering the lasagna up with foil for the last 20 minutes or so as it had got a browned as I wanted it to be.
Take out of the oven and let sit for at least 5 minutes (longer if you can.) Then cut and enjoy. This was supremely wonderful.

Cajun Blackened Chicken Alfredo

The first time I had Cajun Chicken Alfredo was at a great little diner not far from my house. OMG!!!! was it delish. I happen to love pasta Alfredo so this was just a beautiful twist on what is a wonderful perfect dish to begin with.
I have to give credit to the inspiration for this version to Guy Fieri from Food Network. His recipe inspired me to create one that works for our family. I would say the same to you. Take it love it and make it your own. We had this with the Cheddar biscuits I have listed on my blog and a cold glass of white wine. It made for a wonderful meal.

Again as always I double this for my growing family of Sasquatches. Enjoy!

Cajun Chicken Alfredo- Serves 4 (whaaaahaaaahaaaahaaaa)
Kosher salt
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts ( you can blacken and cook these whole or cut up into bite size pieces and blacken and cook. If you cut them up you wont have to use the oven to finish cooking them.)
1 Cup of blackening spice (whatever floats your boat. We like Paul Prudhommes blackening seasoning mix. We like all his products. You can't go wrong with Chef Paul.)
Drizzle of olive oil
2 Tbl. olive oil
3 Tbl. chopped garlic
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced (optional)
1/2 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes in oil (optional)
(I don't add this but you can throw in some chopped bell pepper if it suits your taste)
1/4 cup white wine (to deglaze the pan. Don't skip the wine if you can help it. Wine is a great flavor component. If you just can't use it deglaze with a little chicken broth.)
3 Cups heavy cream
3/4 Cup (more to your liking) grated Parmesan cheese (use the good stuff if you can, it is much better than the stuff in the plastic bottle.)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 pound cooked fettuccine noodles (any noodle you like will work.)

chopped green onions (for garnish. I will be honest, I don't do this often. I don't have to worry about my Sasquatches liking what I cook. They don't need bumped up eye appeal.)



If you are going to cook the chicken breasts whole then turn your oven on to 350 degrees.
Put your pasta water onto boil.
Leaving whole or slice chicken into bite size pieces and coat in blackening seasoning. In cast iron skillet add a little olive oil. Not too much as the chicken wont blacken properly if you put too much. Just enough so that the chicken won't stick. Heat the cast iron skillet up over high heat and then add the chicken. If whole you will cook it till it blackens and then turn (it wont cook through so after it is blackened on both sides you will have to take the pan and put it in the oven for 8-10 minutes to finish cooking the chicken.) When done slice on bias and set aside. If you are cooking the pieces then just cook them till they are dark and remove to a bowl and set aside till later.
Add 2 Tbl. olive oil to a large pot and fry the onion and garlic for a few minutes(you would also add the bell pepper if using at this time.) Then add the sun dried tomatoes and chicken pieces. Deglaze the pan with the wine. Add in the heavy cream and simmer to reduce the cream by 1/4 to 1/2.  When the sauce is the consistency you like add in 1/2-3/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. When pasta is done drain and add to the pan of sauce and toss together. Add cheese to taste.

Grandma Doris's Goulash

Here is another wonderful and easy recipe from Grandma Doris. Of course its yummy and pretty simple.

Goulash

2 lbs. ground beef

1 1/2 Cups chopped onion

2 cans stewed tomatoes

1 can beef broth

1 - 2 tsp. paprika (In her original recipe she called for 1/2 tsp. paprika. I like more. So add as much as you like.)

a good sprinkling of garlic powder

1 lb. elbo macaroni, cooked 

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (add more or less to your taste at the end.)

2 Tbl. butter

salt and pepper

Brown beef and drain. In same pan add butter and chopped onion and fry till onion is tender. Add meat back in. Add stewed tomatoes, beef broth, paprika, garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste. Heat up and add cooked macaroni and then cheese and stir. Taste for seasoning. Adjust salt and pepper as needed. Serve with lots of crusty bread. If its too wet add more macaroni. If its too dry add in more broth and adjust seasoning.

Chicken Piccata Pasta

If you like Chicken Piccata you will like Chicken Piccata Pasta. This originated from Rachel Ray. It is tasty and easy to make.

Chicken Piccata Pasta
2 Tbl. olive oil
1 1/3 lb. chicken breasts cut into 1" pieces
salt and pepper
1 1/2 Tbl. butter
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
2 Tbl. flour
1/2 Cup white wine
1 lemon, juiced
1 Cup chicken stock or broth
3 Tbl. capers
1/2 Cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 lb. penne rigata cooked al dente
chopped chives, for garnish

Heat pot and add olive oil and chicken, season with salt and pepper. Brown lightly 5-6 minutes. Remove and add another tablespoon of olive oil and 1 Tbl. butter. Add garlic and shallots. Saute 3 minutes. Add flour and cook two more minutes. Whisk  in wine and reduce 1 minute. Whisk in lemon juice and chicken broth. Stir in capers and parsley. When it comes to a bubble add remaining butter and the cooked chicken with any juice that has come from the cooked chicken. Toss with cooked pasta and add salt and pepper, Parmesan and chives. Serve.

Macaroni and Cheese

I like boxed Mac and Cheese. I LOVE homemade. In fact I don't make boxed unless I'm lazy and need easy peasy. Thank goodness that isn't often. This is really good. I'm always on the look for the bigger and better but this is pretty wonderful. You will thank me. Go ahead.....I'm waiting......thank me..............

Well fine. Try it first then thank me. Here we go....

Mac and Cheese

• 6 cups dried macaroni
• 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2  teaspoons dry mustard (more if desired)
• 1 lb. sharp Cheddar, grated (not pre-grated cheese), plus more for baking ( I change up the amounts of the cheeses I use. Sometimes its less cheddar than this and more Gruyere and sometimes its just cheddar. It will be good no matter what you use.) or don't use Gruyere and add velveeta. Velveeta makes it very creamy. Or add all the cheese. it is up to you. Its cheese. How can you go wrong.
•  1/4 lb. grated Gruyere cheese (optional. It good with just the sharp cheddar and velveeta cheeses.
• 4 ounces velveeta cubed
• 1/2 tsp. salt (salt to taste through out)
•  1 tsp. Seasoned salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook the macaroni until still slightly firm. Drain and set aside.

 In a large pot, melt the butter and sprinkle in the flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat. Cook for a couple of minutes, whisking constantly. Don't let it burn. Pour in the milk, add the mustard and whisk until smooth. Cook until very thick, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low.

 Add in the cheese and stir to melt. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt and the pepper. Taste the sauce and add more salt and seasoned salt as needed! DO NOT UNDERSALT.

Pour in the drained, cooked macaroni and stir to combine. Serve immediately (while it's still very creamy) or pour into a buttered baking dish, top with extra cheese and bake until bubbly and golden on top, 20 to 25 minutes.

Three way chili, Frito chili pie!!!! Either way its a great pot of Chili

I love chili. I love Cincinnati Chili or 3 way chili or Frito chili pie. Its all good. This is my fairly new and staple chili recipe. I use it for frito chili pie. I use it over spaghetti (if you have never done this you must. You will thank me.0 We have Pioneer Woman to thank for the inspiration. I have ate my chili on spaghetti noodles for years and years. Try it you wont be sorry. Add some cheddar cheese and onions if you like on top. Very good. I promise.
Before we go on lets tackle the "to bean or not to bean" issue. I don't care if it means I'm not a true Texan, or Southerner, or human being. I like beans. I like beans in my chili. So I put them in my chili. Feel free to leave them out if it insults your chili sensibilities. I'm ok with that. I want everyone to just get along and eat this good chili.
Chili

• 2 pounds Ground Chuck
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced (optional)
• 1 can (12 To 14 Ounce) Tomato Sauce
• 1 can (10 Ounce) Ro-tel tomatoes (as spicy as suits your buds)
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Ground Oregano
• 1 Tablespoon Ground Cumin
• 2 Tablespoons Chili Powder (more To Taste)
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1 can (14-ounce) Kidney Beans, Drained And Rinsed
• 1 can (14-ounce) Pinto Beans, Drained And Rinsed
• 1/4 cup Masa (corn Flour) This is a very important flavor component. 
• 1/2 cup Warm Water
• package cooked spaghetti noodles
• Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• Diced Red Onion (Optional)

How do I cook the chili Kathy?

Brown ground chuck with garlic in a pot over medium-high heat. Add tomato sauce, Rotel, salt, oregano, cumin, chili powder and smoked paprika. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes or so.
Add drained and rinsed beans. Stir to combine, then cover and simmer for another 5 minutes or so.
Mix masa with water, then add to the chili. Stir to combine and simmer for a final 5 minutes or so. 
To serve place a mound of pasta on plate and top with chili and cheese and anything else your using. YUM YUM!

Bow-tie-Lasagna

Pic. from Pioneer Woman's blog site. I keep forgetting to take pictures myself. UGH

I made this last night for my family. Pioneer Woman has it listed as a 16 minute meal. I usually don't pay any attention to claims of how quick something is but in this case its true. This was so fast and easy. It did take me longer than 16 minutes but only because I grind my own meat. You see I hate, hate, HATE store bought ground beef of any kind. All it takes is one piece of gristle or bone and its over for me. I finally started buying super lean roasts and just grinding my own in my food processor. Works great and I don't have to worry about what I'm biting into. Anyone who knows me knows I rarely ever eat a hamburger bought out. I rarely make them at home unless I grind my own beef up. I just can't hardly stomach it. So now that I have vented my disgust with store bough ground beef I feel better now. I think I can move on to the point of this post. Woo, maybe I can even do without my meds today. Got that one off my chest. 

Ok, Bow-tie-Lasagna.......This was a HUGE hit with my family. Everyone loved it. I loved it as well. It was tasty and easy. I made Bow-tie-Lasagna, wedge salad with ranch dressing (I'm really into the ease of wedge salad right now. And anyone reading my posts knows I'm having an obsession with Ranch dressing as well), and this great cracked pepper/Parmesan bread we get at our local store. I also made chocolate cupcakes with Italian butter cream frosting. Didn't like either (cupcake or frosting)  recipe so those wont be going up this morning. 

Anyway, give this a try. It is very good. Oh, and don't let the sour cream scare you. It was great.

I doubled the recipe below for my large family. They had plenty to eat but very little leftovers.

Bow-tie-Lasagna
 1 pound ground beef
5 Cups Bow tie pasta (this is about 12 ounces, I think my box was actually 16oz. I used it all)
3 Cups spaghetti sauce (now I usually never buy anything store bought. I make my own sauces. But Pioneer Woman used 1 whole jar of  Bertolli Marinara with Burgandy wine sauce. So I thought if its good enough for her its good enough for me. It was a little sweet for my tastes right out of the jar. But! Once its was mixed with everything else its was SMACK YOUR MOMMA GOOD! Mom, I need to come see you today. I didn't get to do that part yet.)
1 Tbl. olive oil
1 tsp. salt (I was a little afraid of this but it worked out great. Don't be afraid of the salt.)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dry Italian seasonings
1/2 Cup shredded Mozzarella cheese (I used twice the cheese it called for)
1/2 Cup sour cream (I probably used a little less than 1/2 cup, but I did use it and was glad I did. I have read that some use cottage cheese or ricotta. I had the sour cream. It called for sour cream. And it was yummy.)

Place your ground beef in a pan and fry it till done (drain if necessary.) Start your pasta water with salt while your frying your beef. When the beef is done drain , add the spaghetti sauce, salt, garlic powder and Italian seasonings. Let this simmer on low while your pasta cooks.
When your pasta is done drain (I have one of those huge colander looking things with a handle and I just scoop mine out of the water instead of pouring the whole thing into a colander in the sink. I know you really needed to know that.) and turn it into a large bowl and and add 1 Tbl. olive oil. Mix it together. Than pour the pan of sauce over the pasta and add the sour cream and mozzarella cheese. Stir to blend and melt the cheese. Serve.

You'll love it! I promise. My kids gave it a 9 out of 10 stars if that tells you anything.

Vodka Pasta Sauce

Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a big fan of Spaghetti sauce. Red sauce and I have a real love/hate relationship. This sauce however is an exception to the "I hate red sauce" rule. Give it a try. You'll be glad you did.

Anyone reading this blog probably already guessed I double this. What ya gonna do when you have this many hungry men to feed. Serve it with a good Caesar Salad and crusty bread. 

Vodka Pasta Sauce

1 Tbl. olive oil

1 Tbl. butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 shallots, minced

1 Cup Vodka

1 Cup Chicken stock

1 Can (32oz) crushed tomatoes. I buy the fire roasted tomatoes. 

salt and pepper

16 oz. pasta. I like any tube pasta. You can use whatever you like.

1/2 Cup heavy cream

20 basil leaves, shredded or chiffonade.

Parmesan for serving. 

Heat large skillet over med-high heat. Add oil, butter, garlic, shallots. Gently saute for 3-5 minutes (careful not to burn garlic) Add vodka. Reduce by half 3-5 minutes. Add chicken stock and tomatoes. Bring sauce to a bubble and reduce to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. While sauce simmers gently, cook pasta. When ready to serve. Stir cream into sauce. When sauce returns to a simmer. Turn off heat and pour over drained pasta, top with basil leaves. Serve with Parmesan and crusty bread.