Catch of the Day

It's not often that the bf whips out the camera to capture something he wants up on the blog.  But his culinary (and fishing!) prowess must have gotten the best of him the other night, because he snapped a picture of the striper dinner he caught and cooked.  My contribution was boiling the potatoes.

Spinach Quiche

In an effort to include some healthier (i.e., more vegetable-rich) meals in my repertoire, I sat down and trolled Cooks.com.  This simply-named Spinach Quiche looked easy and harmless enough (save for the nutmeg, which I omitted), so I printed it out, added the ingredients to my grocery shopping list, and gave it a try this evening.  It wasn't until I was halfway through making it that I remembered I'd made (and blogged about) Paula Dean's Crustless Spinach Quiche earlier this year.  Of course, that version had been laden with sour cream, cottage cheese, and grated Parmesan in addition to the lonely cheddar included in this recipe and could hardly be counted as healthy.  Listen to me; I try one leafy green dish and all of a sudden I'm one of those self-righteous health nut know-it-alls.  My sincerest apologies.  Now, on to the recipe.

Ingredients:

4 eggs
Slightly more than 1/2 cup milk (Typing this I suddenly realize I . . . forgot . . . the . . . milk!)
1/2 tsp salt
Sprinkle of nutmeg (not for me, but to each his/her own)
Black pepper to taste
1 box frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed out well (I cooked mine)
1/3 cup chopped onion (Catching sight of me about to do battle with the onion in my craft goggles, the bf stepped in and gallantly took over.  And yes, I now have craft goggles.  More on that [much] later.)
1 9-inch frozen pie shell or quiche pan
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (I detest Swiss cheese, so reduced-fat cheddar it was.)

Directions:

Sprinkle onion in shell or on pan.  Mix cheese, eggs, milk, and spices together.  Pour into crust or pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for about half an hour.  (Insert knife into center to check.  If it comes out clean, then it's done.)      

So, how was it?  Especially without the milk?  Delicious!  Albeit a tad dense.  But that could be owing to the extra 1/2 cup cheese I added. (I wanted to use up the contents of an already-opened bag.)     

Cheesy Chicken and Dumplings

What is it about dumplings? I hadn't made this Cheesy Chicken and Dumplings casserole in ages, and as soon as I took a bite, I thought, why don't I make dumplings more often? It's not as if I make them from scratch -- they're only Bisquick and water! Yet, they're just as tasty as the stuff that takes forever. I think. I mean, I've never made the stuff that takes forever . . .

But anyway. This recipe is super easy. The first time I made it, I didn't think so. I was confused by the timing or something. But when I made it last week I thought, how can anyone possibly be confused by a dish this simple? That gives you an idea of how far I've come in the kitchen! So, without further ado, here's the how-to:

Ingredients:

4 boneless chicken breasts (I used those pre-pounded thin ones, which feel like less of a lead weight in your stomach and -- bonus! -- make for quicker cooking)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste (Whatever that means. I just used two shakes of Jane's Crazy Salt.)
1 1/4 cup shredded cheddar
For the dumplings:
2 cups Bisquick
2/3 cups milk

Directions:

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Bake chicken breasts for 35 minutes (I changed it to 25 on account of the less substantial chicken). Meanwhile, combine the chicken soup, sour cream, milk, salt, and pepper. Pour over chicken once the 35 or 25 minutes are up. Sprinkle with cheese. Put back in the oven. Mix the Bisquick with the 2/3 cup of milk until soft dough forms (this part always reminds me of a science experiment. Well, a science experiment that smells like a bakery). Once the chicken is bubbling, drop the dough on top by spoonfuls. Continue to bake for ten minutes. Then cover and bake for ten more minutes.

It turned out really well. The sour cream gives the sauce a subtle tanginess, and you can never go wrong with gooey cheddar. The bf and I ate it with a crisp green salad, which was a nice light complement that also added some color. I probably should've taken a picture of it, too. Oh well. Next time.

Paula Deen's Crustless Spinach Cheese Quiche

I had yet to try any of the recipes from Paula Deen's Cookbook for the Lunchbox Set, which my sister had given me. I still drink Juicy Juice boxes and quake in fear of complicated recipes, so the book was perfect for me. After flipping through, I took a shine to the Crustless Spinach Cheese Quiche. Here's what it's all about:

Ingredients:

1 10-oz package frozen chopped spinach

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 cup small curd cottage cheese (Just reading this one scared me. What the heck is a small curd?!)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

4 tbs flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 cups shredded cheddar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Unwrap the spinach and place it, box and all, on plate. Place in microwave and cook on high power for 4 minutes. Allow it to cool, then squeeze out all of the liquid. Place the spinach in a medium bowl. (I don't have a microwave, so I cooked my spinach on the stove instead.)

2. Get an adult helper to assist you in placing the eggs, sour cream, cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, flour, salt, and pepper into a blender or food processor. Blend for about 1 minute, until mixture is smooth. (This part cracked me up. I didn't feel like dirtying the blender [and didn't have an adult helper around to assist with the cleaning], so I used a hand mixer. Who wants to be bothered scrubbing at all those blades?)

3. Pour the mixture into the bowl with the spinach. Add the cheddar cheese. Blend with a spoon until well mixed.

4. Grease a 9" x 13" baking dish with butter. Pour the spinach mixture into the baking dish and smooth out the top with the back of the wooden spoon.

5. Bake for 45 minutes, until set. Get an adult to help you remove it from the oven. It will be puffed up when you first take it out, then it will fall slightly as it stands. Allow it to cool, then keep it refrigerated.

6. Cut it into squares and carry one to school in a microwave-safe storage container with a tight-fitting lid. At lunchtime, lift the lid so that the steam can come out, and microwave the quiche on high power for about 90 seconds.

The result was as thick and cheesy as you would expect from a dish bearing Paula Deen's name. Which is to say that it was delicious (cottage cheese notwithstanding). But a little disturbing, if you know what I mean. If you do go for the gold, I recommend omitting the salt and pepper. Something this cheesy doesn't need to be seasoned.

One Fried Cheeseburger, Please

The bf graciously took this shot of my fried cheeseburger with his cell phone. I apologize for the graininess that remains despite my most valiant photo editing efforts.

The bf and I were out to dinner with my parents last night, and when it was my turn to order, I still wasn't sure what I wanted. Feeling the pressure, I blurted out, "I'll have the fried cheeseburger, please," relying upon the sole menu offering that both intrigued and repelled me enough to stick out in my mind.

Now, to be clear, the burger itself wasn't fried, just the hunk of provolone cheese on top. (See that huge, gravy-covered thing that looks like a breaded chicken breast? That's the cheese.) The sandwich also boasted mushrooms, although I couldn't taste them, drowned out as they were by the meat and provolone.

In the end, I cut the burger down the middle and gave half to the bf -- no easy task, as gravy and cheese came cascading down onto my brand-new jeans. In return, he gave me half of his crabmeat-topped burger, which was admittedly better, partly because it was well-done, as mine should have been. (I have a distaste for even slightly pink hamburger and was guilty of whining, "Is this okay to eat?" several times during the meal. But that's another rant for another post.)

Was the fried cheeseburger all I'd hoped it would be? No, it was not. But I'm glad that I broadened my horizons by sampling it. Maybe at some point I'll muster the nerve to try a fried Twinkie.

Loaded Potato Casserole

That's right. I made this recipe up. Sort of. It's really just a modified version of baked macaroni and cheese, only with potatoes, broccoli, and bacon instead of macaroni. Anyhow, it fits right in with my beloved collection of recipes that will kill you (on account of their fat content). If you're game, then here's how you make it.

Ingredients:

4 red potatoes
2 cups milk
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 bag frozen broccoli (standard size)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
4 slices bacon
Hot sauce (to taste)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel potatoes, cut into fourths, and boil. Meanwhile, start frying the bacon and prepare the cheese sauce. To make the sauce, melt the butter on Low in a saucepan. Gradually add the flour, then the milk. Lower the burner to Medium and stir constantly until you bring the mixture to a low boil. Turn the burner back to Low once boiling. Add as much (or as little) hot sauce as you want. Add the two cups of cheddar. Once the cheese is melted, drain the potatoes and pour the sauce into the potato pot.

Now, at this point I poured the potato-cheese mixture and most of the bag of frozen broccoli into a casserole dish (equivalent of a 9" x 9" but round), and topped with the bacon and a portion of the last cup of cheese. I think this was a mistake, as the frozen broccoli made the whole thing a little too watery. I recommend using fresh broccoli and adding it during the last 15 minutes of cooking so it doesn't dry out. I let the casserole bake for about 40 minutes, leaving it covered for the first twenty minutes. I sprinkled the last of the cheese on top at intervals. I served with sour cream (well, for me. The bf's not really a fan and used grated Parmesan instead.)

So, how was it? To be honest, a tad bit disturbing. The bf liked it, though. Which was good because he scarfed down the leftovers last night :)

Who Says You Can't Eat Potato Chips for Dinner?

Certainly not me. In need of comfort food after all of this rain as well as a recipe that wouldn't take too much time (because I had to go grocery shopping after work -- yuck), I pulled out an old favorite from my mom's recipe box: chicken and almonds. The name makes it sound almost wholesome. But if you know me, then you know better. Check out the recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cups boiled chicken
1/2 cup almonds
2 tablespoons chopped celery
2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup grated American cheese (I had to go low rent with the processed version, as it was all I had, having forgotten to buy the real stuff on my Acme run.)
1 bag potato chips, crushed (The recipe never specified just what size this bag should be. I used about 1/3 of an 11 oz-er.)

Directions:

Combine ingredients in an 11" x 9" casserole dish and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. It doesn't get any easier than that. Unless, of course, you're resuscitating one of those awful boxed casserole things. To be fair, I did mess this dish up once, back when I was still living with my parents. The original recipe called for salt as well as potato chips, and in true lemming fashion I went ahead and added both without considering the horrifically salty consequences. At the time my mom and I attempted to eat it. But that wasn't happening, not even after we tried to dilute it with some Romaine. My mom asked what had happened, and I said, "I just followed your recipe!" She seemed to think this was funny, saying something like, "Oh, no one actually adds the salt." Needless to say, when I copied the recipe down for my own, I left that part out.

Chicken with Almonds in its unadulterated, full casserole form.

And here nicely plated with a crisp salad and some creamy avocado chunks. The bf doesn't like avocados, which meant more for me. :)

Impossibly Easy Cheeseburger in Paradise Pie

Once upon a time, I used to cook. I've been feeling a little guilty about my lack of culinary prowess lately, no small thanks to my current reading of Julie & Julia. You know you've reached the depths of laziness when you're reading about a woman who pulls the spinal cords out of lobsters when you can't even summon yourself to fry up a grilled cheese. Nevertheless, the other night I managed to make this appropriately named Impossibly Easy Cheeseburger Pie, an old gem from my mom's recipe box. Attractive it isn't, as evidenced by its dubious photo. But this is one of those cases where looks are only skin deep. Not that you want to think of your dinner as having a skin. Anyway, if you love meat and cheese (and really, who doesn't?), then give it a try:

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (I mistakenly bought 2 and so even as I type this have a frying pan full of ground beef fermenting, untouched, in my fridge).
1 large onion, chopped (My inveterate laziness came into full flower here; I skipped the onion entirely, opting instead for the ever-trusty garlic salt.)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup shredded cheddar (By all means, don't feel fettered to the lone cup.)
1/2 cup Bisquick
1 cup milk
2 eggs

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9" pie plate. Brown beef and onion, drain. Stir in salt. Spread in pie plate; sprinkle with cheese. In bowl, stir remaining ingredients. Pour into pie plate. Bake about 25 minutes or until knife comes out clean.

I'm glad to be back on the recipe-posting wagon, if only temporarily. But my inconsistent cooking and reporting thereof has made me rethink the overall feel of this blog. I mean, one day I'm posting about an arts and crafts project, then I'm on to reviewing books and movies, and finally, there are all those pictures of me in the crazy outfits. (I realize I'm neglecting to acknowledge a whole other faction of random writings, but to go into every weird thing I share would take too long.) The thing is, I'm fine with this mess. But sometimes I wonder what you think about it. After all, most of you started reading for the art and handmade business posts (thank you, fellow Etsy followers) and may not care about the clothes, reviews, recipes, Golden Girls homages etc. Similarly, the Photo Shoot Friday fans probably care only about what I'm wearing and don't want to know what I'm thinking. And then there are those people who may check in occasionally just because they know me. By being such a scatterbrain, I run the risk of fragmenting my audience, subsequently losing some of it along the way. Julie Powell of Julie & Julia fame, on the other hand, was a blogger extraordinaire, drawing a vast and loyal readership by recounting her challenging and often hilarious cooking adventures working her way through Julia Child's cookbook. To read her accounts is to feel the excruciating pain of her uphill climb. (Her own mother begged her to stop the project because she was killing herself.) But despite all of her myriad issues, culinary, social, psychological, and otherwise, she is unarguably and unflaggingly focused, managing to deliver a story that is uncomplicatedly cohesive. I don't know if I have it in me to be so creatively monogamous. And honestly, I probably won't even try. So this little ramble has been kind of unproductive.

A New Twist on Meat and Potatoes

There are few meals as satisfying as steaming heaps of red-skinned potatoes, sirloin, and bacon tossed with raw baby spinach leaves and grape tomatoes. Yep, I'm talking about a meat and potatoes salad, which I found in the Family Circle Cookbook. The book was passed on to me by my sister (who is, ironically, a vegetarian) and had been traveling in my car trunk, along with several equally neglected sewing books, for months. (Somehow, I don't think my dreams of becoming a seamstress will ever materialize.) But I busted the cookbook out last weekend. And this dish, dubbed Warm Steak and Potato Salad, was tasty, if artery clogging. At least I omitted the meat dripping/honey/apple cider vinegar dressing. I made it but then deemed it disgusting (even I have my limits) and tossed it. Dressing notwithstanding, if you're a fellow carnivore, then give this salad a try:

Ingredients:

1 lb small red-skinned potatoes

3 strips bacon

1 small red onion, chopped

1 lb boneless beef sirloin, cut into thin strips (Being deeply upset by all things bloody, I didn't cut the meat when it was raw. Instead, I tossed the entire slab into the frying pan and hacked it up after it had cooked.)
1/4 tsp salt

5 tbs honey

5 tbs apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1/2 tsp cold water

1 bag baby spinach leaves

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

Directions:

Place potatoes in medium-size saucepan and cover with cold water. Salt lightly. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Transfer to paper towels. Add onion to drippings and cook for 3 minutes. Add steak and salt. Cook about 2 minutes longer or until steak is no longer pink. Transfer steak and onions to a plate and keep warm. Add honey and vinegar to skillet; cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add cornstarch-water mixture; cook for 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Drain potatoes; run under cold water. Cut potatoes into quarters and place in bowl along with the crumbled bacon and steak-onion mixture. Add spinach, warm honey-vinegar mixture, and tomato. Toss gently.

Time for Seafood Pizza!

Last night I tried a recipe from Make it Yourself Pizzas: Traditional and Contemporary Recipes for the Perfect Pizza, which was a birthday gift from my sister. Well, maybe "experimented with" is more accurate than "tried" because I changed every other thing in the recipe! But what's the point of cooking if you can't make it your own, right? Anyway, here's the recipe, complete with my variations:

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for brushing (Did not use this.)

Pizza dough (Skipped this in favor of the far more forgiving Boboli.)

Flour, for dusting (Nope again.)

14 oz canned chopped tomatoes (Finally, we got one!)

7 oz canned tuna, drained (And . . . we're back where we were. I substituted lump crab meat because I think tuna is gross.)

1 1/4 cups cooked peeled shrimp

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (Had to go with jarred here; chopping parsley just isn't part of what I do.)

1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano (Ditto.)

1 garlic clove, finely chopped (Ditto.)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush a cookie sheet with oil. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured counter to a 10-inch round. Place on the cookie sheet and push up the edge a little. Cover and let stand in a warm place for 10 minutes. (Now you probably understand why I shortcut it over to the Boboli.) Spoon the tomatoes evenly over the base almost to the edge. Flake the tuna (or crab meat) and spread it over the tomatoes, then arrange the shrimp on top. Sprinkle with the mozzarella. Combine the parsley, oregano, garlic, and olive oil and drizzle the mixture over the pizza. Bake for 20 minutes (10 if you're not using raw dough), until the edge is crisp and golden.

Even with all my amendments, the results were tasty despite the crust being a tad bit soggy. But that was my fault for not preheating the crust. Still, you can never go wrong with shrimp and crab. The bf and I enjoyed the leftovers tonight (not of the pizza; we gobbled all of that up yesterday. Just the seafood. Living up to my extravagant nature, I bought a whopping two pounds total.)

Pineapple Chicken

Tonight I made a variation of a recipe called Orange Marmalade Chicken, improvising with the ingredients I had on hand. The result was sweet, tangy, and tropical. I'd definitely make it again!

Recipe: Pineapple Chicken

Ingredients:

6 chicken breasts (I used tenders)
Half of a large can of pineapple rings (reserve some of the juice)
1/4 cup pineapple preserves
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp ginger
1 cup rice
Maraschino cherries to taste

Directions:

Place chicken in 9" x 13" Pyrex casserole dish and cover with the preserves, pineapple rings, honey, and ginger. Pour in some of the pineapple juice, then add the rice. Bake for approximately 50 minutes at 350 degrees, adding the cherries during the last ten minutes.

Breakfast for Dinner

"What's for dinner?" Always a food enthusiast, I asked my mom that question tirelessly. Now I ask myself, which is sometimes more fun -- hey, I get to eat whatever I want -- but sometimes not because I have to cook it myself. Last night wasn't so difficult, though, because I used up some bread, ham, eggs, and cheese I had in the fridge to make this recipe dubbed Breakfast Dish. Here's how to make it yourself:

Ingredients:
(I halved this recipe.)

1 cup cooked ham or bacon
4 cubed slices bread
6 eggs
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar or Swiss cheese

Directions:

Grease 9 x 11 Pyrex casserole dish. Spread bread evenly on bottom. Add ham or bacon. Beat eggs and milk. Pour over meat and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes. Cover after 25 minutes.

Pierogies wih Pizzazz

I heat up Mrs. T's Pierogies about once a week. Four cheese, cream cheese and chives, broccoli cheddar, I love them all (Well, maybe not all. I can do without the jalapeno cheddar). But tonight I decided to be a little more adventurous. So, I tossed the broccoli cheddar variety, diced ham, and chopped apples in a skillet with some olive oil and sprinkled a little shredded cheddar on top. I served it with a crisp green salad, which I thought a nice complement to all that cheese. The result? It was delicious, if a little heavy, with a kind of smoked harvesty flavor from the apples and ham.

By the way, did you know that you can get these pierogies in bags of 70?! The first time I saw this in ShopRite I almost died laughing.

Almond Chicken with Broccoli and Cream Sauce Casserole

The bf and I ate takeout all weekend, and yummy as that was, I thought I'd cook tonight. Looking for something new, I cracked open The Best Casserole Cookbook Ever, by Beatrice Ojakangas. Well-acquainted with my love of casseroles, the bf bought it for me last Christmas. I decided to try Almond Chicken with Broccoli and Cream Sauce. This dish is a little more complicated than my usual casseroles, probably because Beatrice doesn't believe in using condensed soup for the sauce. She claims the whole soup thing became popular in the 1950s when busy women were looking for short-cuts. Frankly, this makes no sense to me; weren't most women in the 1950s housewives with nothing but time? Anyway, the point is, part of Beatrice's recipes always entail making the sauce from scratch. But I didn't mind too much; as you all know, I like a good challenge :) So here's the how-to of it all, including Beatrice's engaging little intro:

"This make-ahead casserole is perfect for easy entertaining. Chicken breasts bathed with a lemon sherry cream sauce are topped with crunchy cornflakes and almonds. Add sliced tomatoes and a green salad to the menu. A cake topped with fresh strawberries would be a lovely dessert."

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (I used 3)
2 cups water
2 teaspoons salt
1 large bunch fresh broccoli
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons cooking sherry
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/2 cup whipped cream
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup cornflakes
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 9" x 13" Pyrex casserole dish.

Place the chicken breasts into a skillet and add the 2 cups water and the salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Set aside in the water.

Put the broccoli into a saucepan, add water to cover, and heat to boiling. Continue boiling for 6-8 minutes, until just tender. Drain and arrange the broccoli in a single layer in the dish.

Remove the chicken from the skillet and strain the broth. Lay the chicken over the broccoli. Return the strained broth to the pan and boil until reduced to one cup.

In a saucepan, melt the 3 tablespoons butter and stir in the flour. Whisk in the reduced broth and the milk and cook until the sauce is thickened. Whisk in the sherry, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and tarragon. Fold in the whipped cream and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese.

Spread the sauce over the chicken and top with the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.

Toss the cornflakes in melted butter and sprinkle over the casserole. Top with the almonds. Bake for 20 minutes, or until heated through and the top of the casserole is lightly browned.

The bf and I just finished eating this for dinner. And I have to say . . . it wasn't that good. At least that's my verdict; according to the bf, it was "very tasty." I thought that the sauce was a little too sweet, probably owing to the sherry and tarragon. Overall, it was one of those recipes where you put in a lot more than you get out. As in, I would've been much happier using the quick and easy canned soup (because a little MSG never hurt anyone. Not that there's MSG in canned soup. But there's something unhealthy in it that sparked Beatrice's acute disapproval.) So that's that. Maybe the next "best casserole ever" I try will be a little more worthy of its name.

Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Dinner

Last night I went grocery shopping after work then hightailed it home to bring on the fiesta. I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to Mexican food (i.e., no re-fried beans, nothing too hot), so this recipe, which was rescued from my sixth-grade International Day cook book, is perfect for me. Here's how to start your own fiesta:

Ingredients:

1 package cooked chicken tenders (sautéed on stove top), cut in small pieces
2 large tomatoes, diced
1 large white onion, diced
1 chili pepper, diced (the canned kind will work too if you can't find fresh)
1 block cream cheese (whatever standard size is)
Large soft tortillas
1 bag shredded Mexican or cheddar cheese
Sour cream (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees before cooking chicken and dicing vegetables. Soften cream cheese in medium-sized pot on stove top. Slowly add chicken, tomatoes, onions, and chiles as cheese softens. Get out an 11" x 9" Pyrex casserole dish and set to side of stove. Place first tortilla in dish, sprinkle with desired amount of cheese, and spoon on some of the cream cheese and veggie mixture. Then roll up the tortilla and place break-side down onto dish. Continue until mixture is used up (should make about 6 large enchiladas. You can also use the smaller ones to make 8-10.) Sprinkle cheese on top of enchiladas and bake, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes. Serve topped with sour cream.

Everyone Loves Macaroni and Cheese

Last night I busted out my mom's (well, James Beard's) recipe for baked macaroni and cheese. It's cheesy, gooey, and yummy. Need I say more?

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 cups sharp shredded cheddar cheese
1 box macaroni

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set water to boil for macaroni. Melt butter over low heat. Add flour and stir until dissolved. Gradually stir in milk. Bring sauce to a slow boil, stirring constantly. Turn down heat, stir in hot pepper sauce. (Macaroni water will probably be boiling by now.) Stir in heavy cream, simmer. Stir in 2 cups cheese. Simmer until cheese is melted and blended. Pour over boiled macaroni and sprinkle with 1 cup shredded cheddar. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Stuffed Salisbury Steak: Mmmm!

Tonight I delved into my recipe box in search of something I never made before and came up with this decadent solution: stuffed Salisbury steak. Interested? Here's what you need and what you do with it:

Ingredients:

(I halved it because it was just for the bf and I)

2 lbs ground beef

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

2 2.8-oz cans French fried onions

1 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

4 oz cheddar cheese cut into 6 sticks (about 2 x 1/2 x 1/2 in) (I opted for the ever-popular Helluva Good Cheese)

For mushroom topping:

2 tbs butter

1 12-oz package mushrooms

2 tbs Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

Combine beef, Worcestershire sauce, 1 can of the French fried onion rings, garlic salt, and pepper in medium bowl. Divide meat evenly into 6 portions. Place 1 stick cheese in center of each portion, shaping eat into ovals around cheese. Place steaks on grid and grill over medium-high coals 15 minutes or until meat thermometer reaches 160 degree F, turning once. (I put them in a Pyrex dish in the oven at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes.) For mushroom sauce, melt butter in large skillet over medium high heat. Add mushrooms. Cook until browned, stirring often. Add Worcestershire sauce. Reduce heat. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

As pictured here, I served mine with roasted red potatoes gently seasoned with parsley, thyme, garlic powder, and Jane's Mixed-up Crazy Salt, and green beans. I know the picture isn't exactly a spread from Gourmet, but the steaks were delicious. I kind of felt like I was eating a well-seasoned inside-out cheeseburger.

A Tasty Casserole

Because my profile boasts that I "make a mean casserole" I figured it was about time I proved it. Tonight I made my favorite, Lattice Chicken. My mom used to make it when I was little, and I would go as far as to say that it's not only my favorite casserole but one of my top five favorite foods. Baked with the irresistible combination of cheddar, onion rings, and Pillsbury crescent rolls, it's gooey and golden -- the ultimate comfort food. Here's the recipe if you want to give it a try (hint: it's super easy!):

Ingredients:

1 can cream of potato soup

1 cup milk

1 package cooked chicken tenders or breasts (I use tenders)

1 16-oz bag frozen broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower

1 cup shredded cheddar (uh, I think I use a good deal more than this . . .)

1 can onion rings

1 4-oz tube Pillsbury crescent rolls (today at Acme I had a choice of either the reduced fat or "big and buttery" version. Guess which one I when for?)

Directions:

Cook chicken on stove. (You're supposed to boil it, but I usually fry it; again, are you really surprised?) Combine soup, milk, chicken, vegetables, 1/2 cup cheddar, and 1/2 can onion rings in a 8"x12" baking dish. Bake, covered, at 375 degrees (despite my editorial background I cannot for the life of me remember the shortcut for degrees) for 20-30 minutes (30 if your oven is slow, like mine). Smooth over the perforations in the crescent rolls so they form one sheet, then cut into strips. Place crosswise on casserole to form a lattice. Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Top with remaining cheese and onion rings. Bake, uncovered, for 3-5 minutes or until onion rings are golden and casserole is bubbling.

This dish is not only delicious, but, like most casseroles, needs no side dishes, except for maybe a nice green salad. It also freezes well (something I take advantage of often because the bf and I usually eat only half.). I also made a frozen peanut butter and strawberry jam pie, but it's still in the freezer because we ate the Ocean City fudge for dessert instead.