Everyday Fettuccine Alfredo

A few days ago, Mr. LoLo and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. (D'aww.) We had already gone out, by ourselves, the previous weekend, so the actual day of our anniversary was spent at home. I tried to choose a menu that would get the whole family excited, but was also not TOO damaging to my post-baby weight loss efforts. This alfredo recipe uses very little dairy, compared to a classic cream based alfredo. In fact, the sauce is almost half vegetables. Not too shabby! Perhaps "every day" is going a little far, but I would definitely put this pasta dish into our regular rotation. I served this with a side of roasted broccoli. 

Everyday Fettuccine Alfredo

(Adapted from here, on FoodNetwork.com)

1 head cauliflower, chopped

2 cups water

3 cloves garlic

2 cups frozen peas

1/2 cup cream

3 cups grated aged cheddar

Salt & Pepper to taste

Fettuccine, cooked al dente

In a saucepot, combine your cauliflower and water. Cover and cook over medium for 25-30 minutes, or until your cauliflower is very, very tender. (Add your garlic to the pot as well if you prefer a milder garlic flavor. I added mine later, as I prefer my garlic quite strong.) 

(At this point, you can turn off the stove and set your cauliflower aside until you are ready to get dinner prepared. I did this step a few hours ahead of time.) 

(Time to cook your noodles! Put on a pot of water, and cook your noodles according to package directions while your sauce is being blended.) 

Pour your cauliflower and water into a blender, along with your garlic (if you haven't already added it), and puree until it is completely smooth. Return the puree to your sauce pot, add your frozen peas, put it over medium low heat, and heat until your peas are cooked. Stir in your cream and set aside. 

When your noodles are finished, drain them, return them to their pot, and pour the cauliflower pea mixture over the top. Sprinkle in a little of the cheese at a time, stirring well between each addition. If the sauce is too think, splash in a little extra milk or cream. 

Enjoy!

Pasta with Béchamel and Peas

Fancy name, eh? My daughter hangs out with Grandma, Grandpa, and her favorite cousin every week. One of their favorite dinners on "Grandma Days" is Grandpa's pasta with white sauce and peas. He keeps jars of Alfredo sauce on hand, just for this dish, and the kids eat it up!

Today was a really long day, and the kids were total troopers. (We hit up the aquarium after school. Coming home, I made a few wrong turns, and ended up stretching a 20 minute drive into nearly 90 minutes. Ouch.) I decided to make something I knew the kids would love, but it had to be QUICK. Quicker than frozen pizza. I already had some leftover (plain) pasta in the fridge, so this came together in about 5 minutes. Easy peasy! (Heh. See what I did there?)

(Oh, and about that name? My daughter asked me to please add this to our dinner rotation...so I told her she had to learn the proper name if she wanted me to remember what I made. No doubt this isn't a real béchamel, but...whatevs. It's cute to see a 6 year old asking for béchamel!)

I learned the recipe for this white sauce from my father when I was about 12. He, in turn, learned it from his grandmother. It's fool-proof, and easily customizable. Add cream cheese and rock shrimp, and you have an incredible dip. More cheese, and it's a great mac and cheese. Less cheese, and it could be a simple topping for poached eggs. This can also be used in white lasagnas, or over vegetables. Oh, and a classic béchamel would also have nutmeg in it, just a pinch.

LoLo's Pasta with Béchamel and Peas
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 pound pasta (cooked, drained and set aside)
4 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup flour
approximately 2 cups milk (I use skim, but nearly anything will work. Even evaporated, from a can!)
1 cup shredded cheese
3 cups frozen peas
Salt, Pepper to Taste


In a sauce pan, combine your knob of butter and flour over medium low heat. Whisk it as the butter melts - you need it to be lump free. It should be runny enough to not just clump up in your whisk. Add more butter if necessary.

Let your butter and flour cook for about 1 minute, until it starts to get slightly golden brown, and slowly whisk in your milk. Just a bit at a time, then let it cook. You want the consistency to be like melted ice cream, or just a bit thicker. The flour thickens as it cooks, so make sure you take your time, and keep whisking!

When the sauce is the right consistency, whisk in your shredded cheddar cheese and stir until melted. Add your frozen peas, heat through, and taste. Depending on your cheese, you may or may not need the salt, pepper, nutmeg, etc. (This is where you can make the sauce your own - White pepper is nice here, because it won't put black flecks in your sauce. Cayenne pepper would surprise people, too!) Pour all of your sauce over your pasta and fold to combine.

Enjoy!

Miso Ginger Chow Mein

This was a recent experiment, and it was pretty decent! Be very generous with your flavors - you have to make them stretch a very, very long way. 

Miso Ginger Chow Mein

Ingredients: 

3 rounds of dried ramen noodles 

1/4 cup miso paste

5 tbsp olive oil

4 slices of ginger

Soy sauce and sugar to taste

Sliced green onions, to garnish

Bring a pot of water to boil and cook your ramen noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside. 

Meanwhile, in a large wok or dutch oven, heat your olive oil and add the ginger slices. Stir those around to give the olive oil plenty of ginger-y flavor. Add your miso paste, and stir, stir, stir. (You might need to add a little water here, just to get things blended). When everything is mixed, add your noodles back in and toss to coat. Cook for just a minute more, to make sure everything is hot through, then season with soy sauce and sugar. Serve topped with sliced green onion. 

Korean Sweet Potato Noodles

ETA: I've been informed these noodles are called "glass noodles" or "japchae". Thanks, Myrnie!


I wish I really knew what to call these things. The official name  on the front of the package is something like "Korean Taste Noodles", which really isn't helpful. I don't think they taste like a Korean at all. (baBOOM) A quick look at the ingredient list shows that the main ingredient is sweet potato flour, so we call them Sweet Potato Noodles. The noodles are long, slightly bendy, hard, and very faintly purple. They cook up in about 6 minutes, but it seems impossible to overcook them. Even left overnight, in the refrigerator, in a pool of broth, they remained very nearly al dente.

If you run into these noodles in your Asian market, grab a package. They're only about $3, with enough noodles to feed four people.

Enjoy!

PS - These noodles? Extremely slurpable. So, go ahead - slurp it up!

Korean Style Sweet Potato Noodles with Tofu

1 package Korean Style noodles (sweet potato)
1 package tofu (silken or firm), diced into 1/2" cubes
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 cup water
8 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp roasted sesame seeds

Fill a large pot with water, and bring to a boil. When that's ready, pop your noodles in and cook those for about 6 minutes, or until tender. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

In the (empty) pot, combine soy sauce, water, sugar, sesame oil, black pepper and roasted sesame seeds over low heat. Add tofu and cook for 3-4 minutes, until the tofu is a rich brown color. Return noodles to the pot and cook gently until they are just a bit shiny.

Serve garnished with scrambled egg, strips of meat, green onion or vegetables.

Healthy Mac and Cheese

Guys, help me out here. I got this recipe from a friend. All I know is that it is copied from chapter 15 of a cookbook, and it is officially called “Healthy mac and Cheese, Believe it!” For all I know, it’s from a diet book. (Come to think of it, it probably is from an Eat-Clean book.)

 

Wherever it’s from, this friend (Jen) came over on Friday with a dish of it and I ate way, way too much. It is absolutely delicious, and totally crave-worthy. I wouldn’t say it’s a trick-you version of mac n’ cheese, but it’s absolutely delicious in its own right. The whole point of Jen bringing it over was to try it together, and tweak it if it needed it. Here’s what we came up with.

 

Healthy Mac and Cheese

(Adapted)

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. flour (any kind – whole wheat, gluten free, etc.)

3/4 cooked, mashed sweet (or regular) potato

3/4 cup liquid (low-fat or skim milk, or broth) heated to just warm

1 cup yogurt cheese (made by draining plain yogurt in cheese cloth)

2 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

Sea Salt and Pepper, to taste

Worcestershire Sauce, to taste (about 1 Tbsp.)

Nutmeg, to taste (about 1/2 tsp.)

3/4 pound whole grain pasta

Panko bread crumbs

 

1. Cook your pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.  Also, grease a small casserole pan and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, in a skillet, heat your olive oil over medium heat and add your flour. Whisk to make a roux – don’t let it burn! Gradually add your warmed liquid (milk, broth, etc.) and continue to whisk and cook until thick. Add potato puree and continue stirring.

3. Add parmesan cheese and yogurt cheese. Add salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and nutmeg to taste. Add your noodles and stir to combine.  Taste again, and adjust seasoning if needed.

4. Move your sauced pasta into your prepared casserole pan and sprinkle liberally with panko bread crumbs. Broil in the oven just until the bread crumbs turn golden brown. Serve hot.

You may also stir in steamed veggies, or sliced chicken, to make this into a one-pot meal.

 

Enjoy!

Tomato Pepper Carrot Puree (Raw Spaghetti Sauce)

Staring down a pile of ripe tomatoes, I knew I wanted pasta sauce for my freezer.  I knew that I wanted to make a huge batch, eat some for dinner, and freeze the rest.  I knew that dinner was in 30 minutes.  So, I punted (which is a luxury I can afford, when I don't intend on preserving the final product in a jar, on the shelf.)

After finding this recipe and taking stock of what I had, I scoffed at the suggested three tomatoes, grabbed as many things from my fridge as I dared, and came up with this.

Technically, I'm going to call it a tomato-carrot-bell pepper puree.  Eat it cold and plain, it's gazpacho.  Warm it up and thin it down with some chicken stock, it's a nice warm soup base.  Cook it down thicker, and it would make an excellent spread for crackers or little toast points or crusty baguette rounds.  Use it as a pizza sauce.  Do what I did, and spoon some into a hot pot of drained pasta, add back some of the starchy pasta water, and stir it over low heat till the sauce is thick and clingy on the noodles.  The main thing to remember is it's raw, it's delicious, and it's fast.  Oh, and it's smooth.  Very, VERY important to my kids.

Tomato Pepper Carrot Puree
Makes about 5 Cups


1/4 cup olive oil
10 medium sized tomatoes, halved (I used Early Girls and very, very fat Romas from the garden)
3-4 cloves garlic
1 small onion, halved
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp dried basil (use fresh if you have it- I made ALL of my basil into pesto yesterday)
2 Tbsp white vinegar (for a little kick, and to keep it bright looking)
2 red bell peppers, topped and seeded, then torn into quarters
2 good-sized carrots, chopped into 1" cubes
Pepper

Start with the first eight ingredients, but only put in two or three halved tomatoes.  Blend well- as you can, add the rest of the ingredients.  I have a workhorse of a vintage VitaMix, you might need to adjust things or use a food processor at home.  Grating the carrots would also help in smaller blenders.  Taste test, and add more basil or salt or pepper or garlic or red pepper, or whatever you fancy.

As a pasta sauce, I'd say this made enough for about 5 pounds of pasta.

Brown Rice Jumble Bowls

This is an easy, super yummy, weeknight dinner idea.  Everyone in the family enjoyed customizing their own bowl- I set out the rice and bowls of toppings, and let the kids just go to town.  Ernie didn't mix anything at all, just had little piles of everything she loved (rice, parmesan, chicken, and cucumbers) and Mimi just chose rice and shredded cheddar cheese- I didn't list the cheddar below because it doesn't quite fit with the flavor profile, but I knew Mimi would eat it!


  This has unlimited variations, but this is what I used.  You could substitute other grains- quinoa or wheat berries would be amazing, or even pasta!  If the toppings you use are chewy or unwieldy, chop them small- I chose to cut my mushrooms and chicken rather finely, but left the cucumbers and tomatoes big enough to grab with a fork.  An asian-inspired bowl would be delicious, with steamed edamame and a ginger-sesame dressing.


Remember when you cook brown rice that it takes much longer than white rice.  I cooked two cups of brown rice with three cups of water in my rice cooker on the "brown rice" setting, and it took about an hour.  I love the flavor and chewiness of brown rice, but often forget to leave myself time to cook it!

Cooked brown rice
Chopped tomatoes
Chopped cucumber
Finely chopped cooked chicken
Finely chopped white mushrooms
Minced chives
Grated Parmesan cheese
Balsamic vinaigrette

Sweet Potato “Mac n’ Cheese”

This dinner was based off of a recipe found here, at Finding Joy in My Kitchen. It was such a hit, even with the Sweet Potato Haters in the group, that I just have to get this written down for posterity.

 

I made a huge batch of the sauce (enough for two pounds of pasta) and froze half of it, before mixing the other half with one pound of pasta for our dinner that night. I’m on a freezer-stocking kick, and half of nearly everything I make ends up in the freezer. I have marinated meat, pizzas, spaghetti sauce, etc. YUM. If you do not want this much sauce, by all means, just cut the recipe in half. Oh, and I used evaporated milk, because I had it in the fridge and it needed using up. Feel free to use whatever you like.

 

Sweet Potato “Mac n’ Cheese”

(makes 2 pounds of pasta)

Ingredients:

2 pounds pasta

3-4 medium sized sweet potatoes, cut into 2-3” chunks (mine were nearly white inside)

2 medium carrots, cut in 2-3” chunks

1 cup sliced onion (2-3 medium)

4 cloves garlic, sliced

1 cup milk, chicken broth or water

Oil

Salt, Pepper and Sugar to taste

 

1. Prepare your sweet potatoes: Place your sweet potatoes and carrots in a soup pot, add cool water just to cover the veg, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes and carrots are tender, about 15-20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, prepare your pasta and onions and garlic. Bring a large pot of water to boil, and cook your pasta according to package directions, being careful not to overcook. Drain it when it is done, and return it to the pot.

3. In a sauté pan, heat 1-2 teaspoons of oil and add your onions and garlic. Cook until soft, 5-7 minutes.

4. When your sweet potatoes, carrots, onions and garlic are all done in their respective pots, combine all four in a blender or food processor with your milk and blend well. Season to taste with salt, pepper and sugar.

5. Now that your sauce and your pasta are done, it’s time to combine! Dump your delicious sauce over your pasta, and add a few handfuls of cheese. Cheddar would be great, or parmesan. Let yourself go wild here! You don’t need much, so you can splurge here.

 

Enjoy! My husband enjoyed his bowl with hot sauce on top…whatever floats your boat.

Creamy Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli

 

Of all the dishes I made for a recent House Party featuring Philadelphia Cooking Crème, this was the least favorite.

 

That said, I also had it ready about 40 minutes too early, and it was nearly impossible to serve by the time the guests arrived. Heh. Oops!

 

This is a really simple take on something I prepare quite often for my family.

 

Creamy Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli

 

1 pound bowtie, or other shaped, pasta

3 cups broccoli florets, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced or diced, and cooked in a little olive oil

1 tub Italian Philadelphia Cooking Crème

Milk (optional)

 

Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook pasta according to directions. Three minutes before the pasta is scheduled to finish cooking, add your broccoli to the pasta water and finish cooking. Drain the pasta and broccoli, reserving about 1 cup of the cooking water.

 

Return your pasta, broccoli and chicken to your pot and stir in Cooking Crème. If needed, stir in enough pasta water (or milk) to loosen up the sauce.

 

PS – This recipe was made with Philadelphia Cooking Crème, which was given to me free of charge for review purposes. The coupons came in a box full of “swag” for me and my guests, including a new skillet, and other kitchen wares and coupons. I was not otherwise compensated.

Pasta with Mozzarella in a Spicy Cream Sauce

 

I made this up for dinner a few nights ago when my husband was going out of town. I wanted enough to feed us for the rest of the week, so I used two pounds of pasta, but this recipe could easily be cut in half. Once you’ve mixed your pasta and sauce, everything else is just to taste. A cross between a stove-top lasagna and a risotto, this is a hearty meal, perfect for cold winter nights!

 

Aunt LoLo’s Creamy, Spicy Pasta

 

2 pounds spaghetti (broken in half) or your favorite pasta

1 jar of sauce, plus 1-3 jars of water (depending on pasta)

2 cups salsa

6 oz. heavy cream

2 cups mozzarella cheese

 

In a dutch oven, combine dry pasta, spaghetti sauce and enough water to cover the noodles. Cook over medium heat, adding water as necessary and stirring often, until the noodles are soft. (Approximately 20 minutes). Stir in salsa and a few glugs of cream. Stir to combine and cook a few more minutes to combine flavors. The sauce should be creamy and coat the noodles with very little liquid left over. The noodles will absorb a lot of water – you are cooking them almost like a risotto.

When the noodles taste nice, smooth them out and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Put them in the oven under a high broiler and cook just until the cheese is toasty, bubbly, and brown in a few spots.

 

Enjoy with a nice salad!

Low-Lactose Mushroom and Chicken White Sauce

The big girl requested macaroni and cheese for lunch today, which I agreed to on the condition that whatever I made, she ate! I didn't have to worry, because she LOVED this. (Who doesn't love white sauce?)

I made this low lactose, because my lactose-intolerant daughter currently has some wiggle room in her "I can handle that" lactose bucket. I included cream for a bit of richness, but you could easily take out the cream entirely, and replace the butter with something like bacon drippings, to make this completely lactose free. Soy milk has the same amount of fat as whole milk, so you'd still have a silky sauce I think. The soymilk I make for my daughter and use in my cooking is lightly sweetened and flavored, about 2 tablespoons of sugar for 2 quarts of milk, plus 1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla. Unsweetened and unflavored is preferable, but harder to find as most plain soy milk isn't actually plain. I figured that the extra sugar would make this taste more like my kids' favorite packaged noodles, and I was right.  The mushrooms and extra browning steps, plus chicken base, added enough depth of flavor that she never noticed I didn't actually put cheese in.  Thus proving that macaroni and cheese from a box doesn't actually taste like cheese.  (I did let them sprinkle parmesan on top, though.)

Low-Lactose Mushroom and Chicken White Sauce

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
soy milk, about 1 1/2 cups
cream, about 1/4 cup
1/2 teaspoon chicken stock base
1 can button mushrooms, undrained
pepper to taste

1/2 pound dry pasta, cooked
1 cup reserved pasta cooking water



Make a simple white sauce by melting the butter over medium heat in a saucepan. If you want a little extra flavor, let it cook just a bit longer to get some color. Whisk in the flour, and again if you'd like some extra flavor let this roux get some color. Start slowly adding soy milk, stirring to completely break up clumps of the roux, and gradually add all of the soy milk, plus a splash of cream. Add the mushrooms with their canning water (again, for a bit of extra flavor), and let the sauce simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Pepper to taste.

Stir into hot cooked pasta over low heat or just residual heat if the burner is still hot, and add 1/4 cup of pasta water at a time and let cook briefly until thickened and the noodles are coated with sauce. (I like to place my colander in my serving bowl to drain the noodles- the bowl catches the pasta water I need when I sauce the noodles, and the hot pasta water heats my serving bowl. Just dump out the water when your noodles are ready, and fill!)

Pasta all Norma (Pasta with Red Sauce and Sautéed Eggplant)

I found a new recipe to use up an eggplant in the crisper drawer.  Ernie helped me pick out the recipe, and was totally excited about it all day, and refused to take more than one bite.  Oh well, Daddy and I thought it was delicious!

The recipe is from here so I won't copy paste it, but basically you warm up your favorite red sauce, add an entire sauteed onion, and an egg plant that's been cubed, salted, left to drain, tossed with a bit of flour, and sauteed in garlic-infused olive oil until it's brown on the inside and melty soft on the inside.  Mix the whole sauce concoction with a bit of cheese, and stir it into a pound of pasta.

I loved the eggplant, I was eating it like popcorn!  Since I'd never cooked eggplant before, I wasn't sure what to watch for, but next time I will definitely let it get totally soft when I cook it, instead of leaving a little bite to it.  I'm looking forward to many more eggplant while they're in season, without any of this pasta razzmatazz!

Fresh Tomato Sauce

Made a quick tomato sauce for dinner tonight from our blemished tomatoes- it was done by the time the pasta was pulled out of the pot, and killed a big pile of ugly roma and early girl tomaters. PLUS, it was delicious, if a bit runny. My dried spices are getting a bit low- I would have added basil if it were available, but neither cupboard nor garden is abundant in basil right now!

The amounts are approximate.

2 pounds slicing tomatoes (10-15 small tomatoes)
2 cloves garlic
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried oregano

Heat oil in a skillet, and add minced garlic. Cook until fragrant, and add chopped tomatoes. Add remaining ingredients, cover, and let simmer. Taste for seasoning. Smash a bit if you like.

Easy Mac n’ Cheese, LoLo Style

Not to be confused with Myrnie’s recipe for Easy Macaroni and Cheese.

This? Is my go-to macaroni and cheese recipe. I love it because it uses one pot, one colander, mug, whisk and a wooden spoon. Also? The sauce isn’t thickened with flour. Flour’s fine, but I always get the proportions wrong, and it has to cook for a good five minutes before you know if you got it right or not. And then it’s hard to fix.

This recipe is thickened with cornstarch, or tapioca starch. Hello, instant gratification! (Oh, and the kidlets all love it.

 

Easy Mac n’ Cheese, LoLo Style

Ingredients:

Salted water

1 pound pasta (macaroni, rigatoni, Seattle Space Needle…whatever)

Cornstarch, or tapioca flour

Milk

Grated Cheddar cheese.

 

Tools:

Soup pot

Wooden spoon

Whisk

Mug

Colander

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook one pound of pasta.  While the pasta is cooking. put a colander and a mug in the sink. When it’s cooked just right, head over to the sink. First pour the water over the mug to fill it, and then drain the rest of the pasta into the colander. Let it just chill out in the sink for a second.

 

Swing by the cupboard and grab the cornstarch (or tapioca starch). Stop by the refrigerator and grab the milk and a bag of shredded cheddar cheese.

Now you’re back at the stove, whisk in hand. Make sure your milk, cheese, starch and that mug of water from the sink are handy. Pour in enough milk to cover the bottom of the pot by about 1/2”. Then put in two heaping spoonfuls of your cornstarch. Turn the heat to medium, and whisk it up. It will be a little gloppy at first, but keep whisking until it’s smooth. When it’s smooth, start throwing in handfuls of cheese. You might want to switch back to the wooden spoon at this point. It takes quite a bit of cheese to make a tasty pasta…four of five handfuls. If it gets too thick, thin it down with the pasta water, or a little more milk.

Finally, dump your pasta back into the pot and stir to coat. Kill the heat, and VOILA! Easy, sheeny, cheesy yummy macaroni and cheese.

Glass Noodles with Cucumber and Shrimp

Serves 4
Glass Noodles with Shrimp and Cucumber
4 bundles glass noodles (mung bean thread noodles)
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, chopped a few times into large pieces
cucumber, halved, seeded, and sliced
5-10 shrimp, cooked
2-4 Tablespoons oil
basil leaves
Sauce (sweet chili sauce, soy, terriyaki, etc.)

Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a wok over high heat until it smokes- add the onions and garlic, and stir for a few minutes until they smell good and are softened. Scrape into a bowl and set aside. Add more oil to the wok if you need to and let it heat. Add noodles and stir fry quickly until translucent, about 2 minutes- they want to stick together, so stir and separate and lift as best you can. Scrape noodles into a bowl and set aside.

Let everyone make their own noodle bowls, and top with sauce.

Creamy Lemon Pasta

Creamy Lemon Pasta
Paraphrased From Moosewood Restaurant: Simple Suppers


In a small skillet on low heat, melt 1/4 cup butter.  Add 1 cup of cream, and heat slowly.  Stir in 3 Tablespoons of lemon juice and set aside.

Stir sauce into 1 pound of cooked pasta, with a cup of grated parmesan cheese.  Thin with reserved pasta water if needed.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  (We didn't need any salt, but everyone peppered theirs lightly at the table.) 

Easy Macaroni and Cheese

When I asked my daughter if she wanted macaroni and cheese for lunch, I received an enthusiastic "Yeah! But can we have it with real cheese, and not the cheese from the box?"

Almost made my little food snob heart burst with pride.

So, for Ernie, here's "real cheese" macaroni and cheese that just as quick as from a box.

Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

Salted Water

Noodles

Shredded Cheese

Cook noodles in salted water according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, and drain.

Return the noodles to the pot and set over low heat- stir in a splash of the past water, and then grated cheese. For a box of macaroni noodles I used about 1 cup of cheese, but you can do this to taste. As the sauce thickens, add a bit more pasta water at a time until you have a consistency you like.

Serve and enjoy!

Braised Kale With Pasta and Goat Cheese

Braised kale again, but this version turned out so well I wanted to share with you guys.

I saved out some of the plain noodles for the girls, and my toddler quickly powered through most of those then a few helpings of the gussied up pasta too.  Like, fistful after fistful of noodles, shoving another noodle in whenever  and wherever an opportunity presented itself.  (She really, really likes new foods.  What can I say?)

Pasta with Braised Kale and Goat Cheese

olive oil

1 onion, sliced

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp smoked paprika

5 or 6 cloves garlic, minced

1 or 2 bunches kale, cut from the stem

2 cups water or broth (chicken or veggie)

splash of cider vinegar

1 pound boiled pasta, plus a little pasta water

3 oz. goat cheese

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet, and add onions, salt, red pepper, and smoked paprika.  Saute until onions are softened.  Scrape onions to one side and pour a little water in a deglaze the bottom of the pan.  Add the rest of the liquid, the garlic, and the kale.  Lower heat to medium and let cook for 10-20 minutes depending on your preference, stirring occasionally.  Add a splash of cider vinegar at the very end and stir.

Have your pasta drained and ready- try to time it so the pasta finishes about the same time as the kale.  Crumble the goat cheese into the pasta pot, with heat on low, and stir to melt.  Add splashes of hot pasta water until noodles are coated with a creamy sauce.  Add braised kale, stir to combine, and serve.

Spaghetti with Braised Kale

I was dismayed to find kale in our most recent CSA box- I've given kale a few tries, a few different ways, and all have been inedible (at least to our palates.)  This recipe has changed that!  It's not stellar in a "oh my goodness, can we make this again to tomorrow?" kind of way, but it's warm, comforting, and very good.  And for me, I've made my peace with kale.

A few recipe notes- I used a 1/2 pound of small shell pasta in place of the spaghetti, and threw in the greens attached to the turnips I also found in my CSA box.  Beet greens would probably be good too- any hearty greens.  The recipe calls to braise the greens for 20 minutes or more- it took away nearly all of the bitter taste I've always loathed in turnip greens and kale.  I used a red onion- I love how well they caramelize-- and threw in a handful of refrigerated bacon bits with the cheese, to satisfy our heartier eaters.  Finally, I used a bit more pasta water at the end and a few handfuls of cheese, to make my favorite kind of pasta sauce- let it melt together, while stirring over low heat, and you'll have something delicious!

Spaghetti with Braised Kale

Bon Appetit, October 2009

3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 medium onion, chopped

1 lb. kale, large center ribs and stems removed, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch slices

8 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 pound spaghetti

finely grated Parmesan (I used 2 or 3 small handfuls)

Rinse kale, drain, and transfer to bowl with some water still clinging.  Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in heavy large pot over medium heat (I used a cast iron dutch oven.)

Add chopped onion and cook until soft and translucent, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes.  Add sliced garlic and sprinkle with salt; cook until onion is golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.  Add kale and remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil and toss until wilted, about 3 minutes.  cover pot and reduce heat to medium low.  Continue cooking until kale is very tender, stirring occasionally and ading water by teaspoonfuls if dry, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook spaghetti in medium pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally.  Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid.  Add cooked spaghetti to kale mixture in pot.  Add lemon juice and 2 Tbsp or reserved cooking liquid; toss to combine, adding more liquid by tablespoonfuls if dry.  Sprinkle spaghetti with grated Parmesan cheese and serve.

Macaroni De-Luxe

Yes, De-Luxe is a word. Why? Because I say so. And because I tweaked this recipe out of a Southern cookbook that my grandmother found for my sister and I ages ago. (I think she actually stole it off one of her sister's shelves...but I could be wrong about that. Heh.)



I had volunteered last week to make some dinner for a friend who was expecting a baby. (As luck would have it, she had her baby right at dinnertime, on the day I had volunteered to cook. Her husband called from the hospital and said their doctor would like me to deliver the food there - lobster and steak please, with a good bottle of champagne. Pff. As if!)



However, the dinner was already made, so now...it sits. In my freezer. Awaiting the day when my friend no longer has enough food in her refrigerator to feed an army, and hasn't the will to cook anything. For, my friends, that day will come. And when it does, I'll be ready. Why?



Because I have the largest pan of macaroni I've ever seen, waiting for her in my freezer.



I wanted enough for my family, as well as hers, so this recipe makes two 9x13 pans. Please don't laugh at the ingredients. And please don't make the same mistake I did - if you serve this as a main course, it will serve 4-6 people, and you'll gain about 19 pounds.



Don't say I didn't warn you!



Macaroni Deluxe
(Adapted from "Macaroni and Cheese Deluxe", out of The Energizers' Powerful Good Cooking: a collection of recipes from retired employees of Alabama Power Company)



Ingredients:

2 pounds macaroni noodles, cooked and drained

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can evaporated milk

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 tsp. black pepper

3 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese, divided



In a large bowl, whisk together the cream of mushroom soup, evaporated milk, mayonnaise, minced garlic and black pepper. Stir in 2 1/2 cups of grated cheddar cheese. Stir in your cooked macaroni, folding to coat.



Divide the macaroni between two 9x13 pans and sprinkle 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese on top of each pan.



Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, or until the noodles are heated and the cheese is melted.



Alternately, this can be covered well with tin foil and frozen.



*The thing I love about this recipe is that it I can make it at a moment's notice, because these are all ingredients that I generally have in the pantry. So, when someone needs a dinner...I can whip this out and have it on their doorstep within 45 minutes.