Crab Mac 'n Cheese

This is probably the best mac n cheese I have made. Aside from the crab addition. The mac n cheese was out of this world. I adapted this recipe from Ina Garten who makes it with lobster. I live in Vegas, so good lobster is hard to come by on any average day, let alone crab, hence the can of crab meat I used for this. It was still fresh crab, well as fresh as a can of crab can be I guess. I will totally make this again though! 

You will need:

Kosher salt
Vegetable oil
1 pd elbow macaroni
1 quart milk
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
12 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated (4 cups)
8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 pounds cooked crab meat
1 1/2 cup crushed saltine crackers


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the pasta and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don't boil it. In a large pot, melt 6 tablespoons of butter and add the flour.

Toots loves making mac n cheese, its her favorite!

Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. Still whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or two more, until thickened and smooth.

Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, 1 tablespoon salt, the pepper, and nutmeg.

Add the crab and cooked macaroni and stir well. 

Place the mixture into a 13x9 casserole dish.

Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, combine them with the crushed crackers, and sprinkle on the top. 

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top. Enjoy!

                                       
                                     

Baked Chicken and Zucchini

Tis the season for zucchini! Well, the end of the season anyway. But I eat zucchini all year long. And this new recipe that I've come across is a now family favorite that I'll be making often through out the whole year. I found the original recipe at Taste of Home, but I added a little of this and that to make it my own. You can easily switch it up too. Less zucchini, more tomato, no mushrooms, whatever you like or dislike. It's easy to throw together and the results are delicious. This serves 4.

You'll need:

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 cup bread crumbs, I used Panko
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 egg
1 tbsp. water
salt and pepper
4 tbsp. olive oil
5 medium zucchini, sliced about 1/2 inch thick
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 cup sliced mushroom (about 8)
1 red or green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

In a shallow bowl, beat egg, water, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper.
Combine the Italian seasoning with the bread crumbs, and set  aside 2-3 tablespoons of it.  Place the remaining crumbs in a large re-sealable plastic bag. Dip chicken in egg mixture, then place in bag and shake to coat.
In a large skillet, cook chicken in 2 tablespoons oil for 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown; remove and set aside. In the same skillet, saute zucchini and peppers in remaining oil until crisp-tender; drain. Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish.
Sprinkle the reserved bread crumbs over the zucchini. Top with tomato slices and mushrooms and sprinkle with 2/3 cup mozzarella cheese, and a little salt. Top with chicken. Cover and bake at 400° for 25 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!!

Homemade Shepherd's Pie

 

I got my new cookbook in the mail, The Picky Palate Cookbook, by the awesome Jenny Flake. I don't think there's a single thing in there that I wouldn't make! I highly recommend her book. The first thing I made, her homemade shepherd's pie. The family loved it, everyone had seconds...maybe even thirds. I will be making this all the time!

You need:
for the mashed potatoes-
2 1/2 lbs peeled diced potatoes (I used 7 potatoes)
3 Tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 cup milk

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon fresh minced garlic
1 lb ground beef
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can green beans, drained

Sauce
3 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup chicken broth

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (original recipe calls for 1 cup, but I love me some cheese)

Preheat your oven to 350. Spray a 13x9 dish with cooking spray.
Get your potatoes going. Peel, dice, and boil for about 20 min, or until fork tender. Drain and put them into a mixer, or use a hand mixer.

 

 

Add the salt, pepper,garlic powder, butter, and 1 cup of milk. Taste and season more if needed.

In a skillet, over med-high heat, drizzle the olive oil. Add the onion and minced garlic. Cook for about 3 min. Add the ground beef. Continue to cook until all meat is browned.

In a small sauce pan, melt the butter, add the flour and whisk until smooth. Add the salt, pepper, and chicken broth.

Bring the sauce to a boil and reduce heat to low. Let simmer for about five minutes.
Add the green beans to the ground beef, and pour the sauce on top.

Carefully fold in the sauce.

Pour the meat mixture into the 13x9 dish.

 Top with mashed potatoes and cheese.

Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

My Veggie Lasagna

My Veggie Lasagna

 

I came up with this dish a few years ago. I'm sure that I was just using up left over veggies I had in the fridge at the time, but the ingredients I used were just perfect. I make it often and haven't changed a thing about it. You could definitely switch up the choice of veggies though. Spinach and/or tomato would probably be a delicious variation.

 

 

You will need:

12 lasagna noodles (always prepare a couple extra in case any of them break while handling)

15 oz container of ricotta cheese

1 cup cottage cheese

1 jar of alfredo sauce (I use Bertolli)

1 egg

4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 tbsp. italian seasoning, plus a little dash later

1/2 tsp. minced garlic

salt and pepper

2 cups chopped fresh broccoli 

2 cups chopped fresh cauliflower

1 whole zucchini, chopped

1/2 large white onion, chopped

2 carrots, shredded

 

Preheat oven to 350.

Prepare the lasagna noodles by boiling them just until they're almost done, but not quite. They are easier to handle if they're a little firm still. They will have plenty of time to finish cooking in the oven.

 

Spoon a little of the alfredo sauce into the botto of a 13 x 9 baking dish so that your noodles don't stick later.



Once all your veggies are chopped, boil the broccoli and cauliflower for about 3 min, just to soften them a bit.

In a big bowl, combine the ricotta, cottage cheese, alfredo, egg, 1 tbsp. italian seasoning, garlic, salt, pepper, onion, and carrot.

Drain the broccoli and cauliflower and add them to a big bowl with the remaining ingredients. Gently fold together.

Layer 3 of the noodles in the pan.

Spoon 1/3 of the veggie mixture over the noodes.

Then toss on 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese.

Repeat these steps 2 more times. You want to end with noodles, and cheese on top of them. So it should go from bottom up, noodles, sauce, cheese. Noodles, sauce, cheese, Noodles, sauce, cheese, then noodles, and finally cheese.

Sprinkle with a dash more of italian seasoning and salt and pepper.
Bake uncovered for 40-45 min. Once finished baking, let it cool for about 15 min before cutting into it.
Enjoy!