Seriously Good Mac & Cheese

It rained cats and dogs today which means kids are going to ask for  a dinner of mac and cheese.  I've been making the same recipe for 10 years now, but tonight I decided to do something different, which is a little risky because you never know what kids will do when you change up their favorite food.  This is what I came up with.  Be warned - it is not diet friendly. :)   Surprisingly, everyone LOVED it, so much so, that it's unanimous that this is our new favorite.  I had to write the recipe down immediately so I don't forget what I did.    The secret, is Dublinger Cheese.  If you've never tried Dublinger cheese, it has the flavor of sharp cheddar, swiss and parmesan all rolled into one.  It's delicious.  But, if you don't want to risk it, just use sharp cheddar instead.


One more thing, don't try feeding this to little kids.  If it doesn't come from a blue box, they won't eat it.

1 pound box dried pasta, I use Barilla medium shells
1/2 stick butter (1/4 cup)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1 shot of Tobasco sauce
2 cups milk
2 cups grated Dublinger Irish Cheese
(You can find it with the gourmet cheeses in the deli section of the grocery store)
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese (reserve 1 cup to sprinkle over the top of the dish)
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a large pot, cook the pasta according to package directions and drain thoroughly.
Set aside.

In a medium sauce pan, over medium heat, melt the cube of butter.
Add the flour.
Continually whisk the flour/butter mixture for 1 minute.
Increase the temperature to medium/high.
Add the milk, and continue whisking until the mixture has thickened to the consistency of a sauce.
Add the nutmeg, mustard, tabasco, salt, pepper, and cheeses,
 and continue to whisk until the cheese is thoroughly blended into the sauce.

Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.
Add the pasta.
Pour the sauce over the pasta.
With a large spoon, mix the pasta and the sauce together and spread evenly in the pan.
Sprinkle the reserved cheese over the top.

Combine the bread crumbs and the melted butter.
 Sprinkle over the top of the macaroni.

Place in the pre-heated oven and cook for 30 minutes.
Serve with your favorite salad.

Serves 6 to 8.

Bacon Bark

Another fabulous recipe from the 2011 Ladies Christmas Social, this one courtesy of Stacy Sorenson.  If you are a bacon lover, you have to give this a try.  It's a fun appetizer for the Super Bowl, or a man party.

Nuts:
1 cup pecan halves
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp Hungarian paprika
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Bacon:
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 tsp Hungarian paprika
6 strips center-cut bacon, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 lemon, zested
pinch salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper



To prepare the Nuts:
In a small bowl, add all the ingredients listed under Nuts.
Stir until everything is coated.
Set aside.


To prepare the bacon:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In another small bowl add all of the ingredients listed under Bacon.
Spread out on a nonstick backing sheet and place in the preheated oven.
Cook until the bacon is partially done,
and the sugars are bubbling, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and add the nut mixture onto the sheet.
Stir and fold with a spatula and spread everything out on the sheet again.
Place back in the oven for 15 more minutes,
stirring and spreading again halfway through cooking.

Serve warm, or allow to cool and break apart.

(I ate it when it was cool and broken apart like peanut brittle.)

Ham and Cheese Sliders with Poppy Seed Sauce

I recently attended the annual Ladies Christmas Social hosted by my friend Debbie Skaggs.  Every year we gather together to celebrate Christmas, and everyone brings something delicious to eat, along with a copy of the recipe.  This year I had two favorites, and this is one of them.   Lanell Lange brought these sliders.  They were such a hit that they were gone before I had a chance to go back for seconds.


One note, if you are not a fan of Miracle Whip (which I am not), don't panic.  I had no idea it was in the recipe until I read the list of ingredients, so give it a try.

For the sliders:

24 good white dinner rolls (Hawaiian rolls are the best)
24 pieces of good honey ham
24 small slices Swiss cheese (you can use a regular sandwich slice and cut in 4ths)
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup Miracle Whip

For the sauce:

1 teaspoon poppy seeds
2 1/2 teaspoons yellow mustard
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons minced onion
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

In a small bowl, mix together mayo and miracle whip.  Spread onto both sides of each roll.
Place a slice of ham and Swiss cheese inside of each roll.
Close rolls and place them close together, on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients.
Pour evenly over all the sandwiches.
Let sit 10 minutes or until butter sets slightly.
Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 12 - 15 minutes.
Serve warm.

Peppermint Marshmallows

Homemade marshmallows are easy to make, and so much fun to give as a gift with hot chocolate mix.  Personally, I love them in s'mores.  The only trick is cutting them out.  It's a sticky situation.  I find it easiest to use a dough scraper, or a pizza cutter sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  If you use a dough scraper, press down using the scraper to make a cut rather than slicing.


3 packages unflavored genatin
1 cup ice cold water, divided
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup starch
non-stick cooking spray
5 to 6 drops red food coloring


Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer (KitchenAid) along with 1/2 cup of the water.


In a small saucepan, combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt.


Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan, and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F - approximately 8 to 10 minutes.  Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.


While the sugar is cooking, prepare a 9 x 13 pan by lightly spraying it with nonstick cooking spray. 
In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and the cornstarch.


Sprinkle the sugar/cornstarch mixture into the 9 x 13 pan and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan.  Return the remaining sugar/starch mixture to the bowl for use at the end.


Put the whisk attachment on the mixer and turn to low speed.  While the mixer is running, slowly pour the sugar syrup don the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture.  Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the mixer speed to high.  Continue to whip until he mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm -- approximately 15 minutes.
Add the peppermint and mix to combine.


Spray a spatula with the non-stick spray.
Pour the marshmallow mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly using the spatula.
Drop red food coloring onto the marshmallows and use a toothpick to swirl the food coloring into the marshmallows.
Dust the top with enough of the sugar/cornstarch misture to lightly cover.  Reserve the rest for use after the marshmallows have been cut.

Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 8 hours or overnight before cutting.
When ready to cut, turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board.  Spray the pizza cutter, or dough scraper with non-stick spray and cut the marshmallows into 2-inch squares.  Once cut, toss each marshmallow into the bowl with the sugar/cornstarch mixture to coat.
Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Eden's Chocolate Chip Cookies

We love making cookies at our house, and of course, the family favorite is chocolate chip.  We've tried many recipes over the years, but this one is our favorite.  Eden found it -- I have no idea where, but it's a keeper.

1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 2 teaspoons hot water
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer cream together, the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about four minutes.
Add the vanilla and eggs and mix on low speed until well combined, about 1 minute.
Add the baking soda and mix on low speed until well combined, about 1 minute.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.  On low speed, add the flour mixture one cup at a time to the creamed mixture.  Mix until combined, about 2 minutes.

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Spoon golfball sized drops of dough onto the prepared baking sheet.
Cook for 10 minutes until slightly brown.
Remove from oven and transfer the cookies to a baking rack to cool.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies, depending on the size.

Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

Have you ever eaten Quinoa?  If not, you need to give it a try.  You cook it just like rice.  It's a seed, but it tastes more like a grain, and it is really good for you.  Among other things, it has 12% to 18% more protein than any grain, contains all nine essential amino acids, it's gluden free, high in fiber, and a good source of phosphorous, magnesium,  and iron.   I decided to give it a try and substituted it for the rice called for in many of my recipes, like this one.   I serve it with grilled salmon, or chicken.

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 cup raisins
2 green onions, sliced fine
1 cucumber, or Italian squash cut into bite sized pieces
1 teaspoons fresh mint, chopped fine
1/4 cup pecans, chopped and toasted
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a medium sauce pan, place the quinoa, water and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Bring to a boil and reduce heat.
Cover the pan and cook at a simmer until all of the water has been absorbed by the quinoa -- about 15 minutes.
Remove from heat and fluff with a fork.
Refrigerate until cooled.

Once the quinoa has cooled, add the tomatoes, raisins, cucumber, green onion, mint, and nuts.
Toss to combine.
Whisk together the lemon, olive oil, sugar, salt, and pepper.
Pour this over the quinoa.
Toss to combine.

Serves 4.

Dinner in a Pumpkin

This is one of our Halloween traditions.  My kids were skeptical when I first made this, but to the surprise of us all, they loved it and asked for seconds.   We make this the weekend before Halloween when we carve our pumpkins.  Don't let the ingredients overwhelm you, this is easy to make, it just takes a bit of time, so plan accordingly.  Read through the entire recipe so you know what to expect.


One important note.   Liquid can leak out of the bottom of the pumpkin as it cooks.  I recommend baking this in an alumium turkey roasting pan sitting on a baking sheet so you don't make a mess in the oven. 

1 1/2 pounds ground beef (or ground turkey)
2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 - 14.5 oz cans beef stock
1 10.75-oz can cream of celery soup
1 10.75-oz can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup instant rice, or 1 pouch Uncle Ben's Express rice
1 pound mushrooms, drained and sliced
1 onion, diced
1 sugar pumpkin, about the size of an adult head (Don't panic, these are the basic pumpkins sold at most stores).
1 8-oz. can sliced water chestnuts, drained and sliced

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Cut off the top of the pumpkin.
Clean out seeds and pulp.
Rub the inside of the pumpkin with the pumpkin pie spice.
Place the pumpkin in the aluminum roasting pan and set aside.

In a stock pot, saute the onions and mushrooms in the olive oil until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the ground beef and season with the salt and pepper.
Cook the meat mixture until lightly browned breaking up the meat.
Drain the beef mixture and return to the pot.

Add the rice, water chestnuts, soy sauce, sugar, soups, and stocks, and stir to combine.
Cook over medium heat until the mixture is heated through, about 5 minutes.
Pour the ingredients into the prepared pumpkin.
Replace the top on the pumpkin a little askew to create a vent.

Place the roasting pan on the lowest rack in the oven.
Bake for 3 to 4 hours until the pumpkin is cooked.
After the first hour of cooking,  check it every hour.
You can tell if you scape the inside of the pumpkin and it pulls away from the skin.

Use care when removing from the oven, the pumpkin is heavy and hot.
To serve, scoop the contents of the pumpkin into shallow bowls.
Make sure you scrape the sides of the pumpkin along with the meat mixture, it's delicious.
Serve with crusty bread.

Serves 6 to 8.