Bacon Mac

Isn't it weird how kids who are crazy for mac&cheese don't really like the real thing?  And the same kids who also like bacon don't like it when you put it in their mac&cheese?  Oh well....more for me!

I found this recipe at Cooking Light.  Does it really make it lighter just because I found it there?  Maybe, maybe not.  I'm sure there are way worse macaroni and cheese recipes out there, but I found this one completely delicious!  In fact I'm about to go get some of the leftovers for lunch right now.  But before I do, here's the recipe so you can do the same.

Ingredients

• 3 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
• 12 ounces strozzapreti or penne pasta
• 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups skim milk, divided
• 2 cups finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 slices center-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
• Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Preheat broiler.

2. Bring 6 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil. Add pasta; cook 8 minutes or until al dente; drain.

3. Combine flour and 1/2 cup milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Gradually add 1 cup milk; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; let stand 4 minutes or until it cools to 155°. Stir in 1 1/2 cups cheese. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, onions, hot sauce, pepper, and bacon; stir. Add pasta; toss. Spoon into a 2-quart broiler-safe dish coated with cooking spray; top with 1/2 cup cheese. Broil 7 minutes.

Noodles with Spicy Cabbage and Pork

It seems the food I'm cooking lately is just so very...brown.  Maybe I should just call it "earthy".  Could be part of the reason I've switched to this pink and blue background since my food is somewhat lacking in color.  But the flavor of this noodle dish (once again from Mark Bittman's "Food Matters" cookbook) made up for the lack of color.

I really liked just about everything about this dish.  I loved the texture of the rice noodles; it had just about the right amount of heat for me.  I think the only thing I might do different is just go all vegetarian and omit the pork, maybe add some mushrooms.  It was pretty good left over too.  Here's the recipe. 

Printer-friendly Recipe

Salt

2 tbsp vegetable oil

8 oz ground pork or thinly sliced pork shoulder

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp minced ginger

1 head Napa cabbage, chopped (I used regular cabbage)

8 oz rice, buckwheat, or wheat noodles

3 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

2 tsp chile oil

black pepper

chopped cilantro

lime wedges

1. Put the oil in a large deep skillet; add pork and brown it, sprinkling with salt.  Remove from pan with slotted spoon and lower heat to medium low.

2.  Add garlic and ginger to skillet, stirring occasionally cook about one minute.  Add the cabbage, along with 1/2 cup water and cook about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Lower the heat and cook about 5 minutes more until cabbage begins to brown.  In the meantime cook noodles according to directions, making sure they don't get mushy.  Drain the noodles and reserve some of the cooking water.

3.  Toss the noodles in the skillet along with the pork, soy sauce, sesame oil, chile oil, and black pepper.  Add some of the cooking water if the mixture seems too dry.  Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.  
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Pasta with Caramelized Fennel and Onion

As one of Mark Bittman's newest fans, I now bring you the first thing I made from his book, "The Food Matters Cookbook".  I think fennel is so pretty as well as being crunchy and delicious, and I'm always happy to find a way to use it.  (okay so this only the second time I've ever used it, but who's counting?)

 

I really liked this dish, and all members of the family managed to eat some, so that's saying a lot.  I added some ground chicken sausage, and sauteed spinach for color.  

Here's the recipe for you:

Makes: 4 servings

• Salt
• 3 large or 4 medium fennel bulbs, cored and sliced
• 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
• Black pepper
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 ounces any pasta, preferably whole wheat
• 1/2 cup white wine, optional

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Put the fennel, onion, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper in a large, deep skillet over medium-low heat. Cover and cook, stirring every 5 minutes, until the vegetables have given up their liquid and are almost sticking to the pan. Add 3 tablespoons of the oil, raise the heat to medium-high, and cook, uncovered, until the vegetables are nicely browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Turn off the heat.

2. Cook the pasta in boiling water until it's tender but not mushy.  When it's almost done, turn the heat under the skillet to medium, add the wine or some of the pasta cooking water to the pan, and stir to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom.  Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water.  Toss the pasta in the pan with  the fennel and onion, adding a little of the pasta cooking water if the dish seems dry.  Season as desired and drizzle with the remaining olive oil.  Serve immediately. 

BTW...I'm really enjoying this cookbook.  There are so many things I'm looking forward to making, I don't even know where to start!

Meatball Soup and Stuffed Shells

It's a two-for-one kind of day today.  

I was wondering the other day if anyone has ever been served with divorce papers for making soup too often.  But when it comes to a bowl full of warm steamy yumminess, I just can't help myself.

 

This recipe called for pasta rings, and I wished I'd had some. They would have been really cute in there.  But the plain old macaroni tasted just great.  

Here's the recipe that I found at An Edible Mosaic:

 

1 1/2 lb lean ground beef

1/2 TB Worcestershire sauce

1 egg

1 egg white

3/4 c bread crumbs

1/2 oz fresh grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish if desired

4 TB minced fresh parsley, divided

8 oz pasta (I used O-shaped pasta)

2 TB olive oil

4 medium-large carrots, peeled and diced

3 large stalks celery, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

5 c water

1 (28 oz) can diced tomato (with juices)

6 oz tomato paste (I forgot this)

2 bay leaves

2 tsp dried Italian herb spice mix

2 beef bouillon cubes

Salt and pepper

In a large bowl, combine the beef, Worcestershire sauce, egg, egg white, breadcrumbs, 1/2 oz Parmesan cheese, 2 TB parsley, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Use your hands to mix everything together, being careful not to overmix. Form the meat mixture into small balls, about 1/2 TB each (I get about 60 balls), and set aside.

Cook the pasta to al dente according to the package directions, drain, and set aside.

In a 5-quart pot with a lid, heat the olive oil on medium heat; add the carrots, celery, and onion and sauté until starting to soften (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and sauté another minute. Add the water, diced tomato, tomato paste, bay leaves, dried Italian herbs, bouillon cubes, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Cover the pot, turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring up to a boil; turn down to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes (covered), stirring occasionally.

Add the meatballs, bring the soup back up to a simmer, then simmer for 10 minutes (with the lid slightly ajar). Turn off the heat and stir in the noodles and the remaining 2 TB parsley. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve garnished with Parmesan cheese if desired.
 

I also recently made stuffed shells from the recipe I found at The Pioneer Woman.  (just click that link if you want the recipe)

I liked these, but I think I was the only one who really did, judging by how many days I took them to work for lunch.   

TY's Baked Spaghetti

It's getting late, and I have to work tomorrow, so I probably should be sleeping. But no.  I'm sitting here posting pictures of spaghetti on the internet, because we all know the internet hasn't seen nearly enough spaghetti pictures.

But this is some pretty good spaghetti.

Probably the last of the Trisha Yearwood recipes I'll be doing for a while, since I have to take her book back to the library.  She definitely has some good looking stuff in that "Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood" edition.  Can't wait to check out the other one.

Anyway, we all enjoyed this, and I think it would be great for a potluck.  Her recipe calls for a little can of sliced olives, but I hate them so I left them out.  And I was a little skeeved out by pouring cream of mushroom soup right on top of the whole thing, but it's good.  Trust me.  

6 slices bacon
1 tsp minced garlic
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped bell pepper
3 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes with liquid
1-2 tbsp dried oregano to taste
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
12 oz thin spaghetti, cooked and drained
2 cups grated cheddar
1 10oz can cream of mushroom
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.

In large skillet, cook the bacon until slightly crisp, then cut into smaller pieces. Remove bacon and saute the garlic, onion, bell pepper until tender.
Add tomatoes, oregano, bacon and cooked beef.
Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Place half the spaghetti in the prepared pan. To with half the veg-beef mixture. Sprinkle with 1 cup cheddar.
Repeat layers. Mix the canned soup and water until smooth and pour over the casserole. Sprinkle the top with Parmesan. Bake uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes.
 

Sunday Gravy

About a week ago, I asked y'all what dish I should make to celebrate my weight loss, and most of the replies indicated I should go with Julia Child's beef bourguignon.  But like a true muttonhead, I went with the Sunday Gravy. 

I'll save the bouguignon for when I own a decent dutch oven.  (hint  hint, birthday bunny)

I believe the first time I heard of Sunday gravy was from everyone's favorite perky little food temptress, Rachael Ray.  Hey, say whatcha want, she makes some yummy stuff.  I thought it was an odd name for a tomato sauce, but it grew on me.  

Then a few weeks ago, I saw Velva's wonderful Sunday sauce at her blog Tomatoes on the Vine, and knew it was something I wanted to try.  Any dish that incorporates 5 different kinds of meat earns my respect right away.  I did weenie out a bit and left out one of the meats.  I thought my family might send me to one of those rehab places for people with meat addictions if I included them all.  

So this sauce is not something you want to make on a day when you're rushed for time, as there are quite a few steps.  Forming and broiling the meatballs, browning the meats, breaking up the tomatoes, and a good two and half hours for simmering.  But if you've got a few hours to put together a memorable meal and few folks to share it with, I think this is something you might enjoy.

Here's the recipe...don't forget to look at the end for some of the things I did differently.

Ingredients:

For the Sauce:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

8 links mild Italian sausage

1 rack of spare ribs (about 3-1/2 lbs), cut between the bones into individual ribs

1 pound pork butt, cut into 4 pieces

1 large onion, diced

4 whole peeled shallots

4 whole peeled garlic cloves

3-28 ounces cans whole peeled tomatoes

20 fresh basil leaves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Freshly ground black pepper

1 pound of rigatoni pasta

For the meatballs:
3-4 slices firm textured white bread
8 ounces ground beef
8 ounces ground pork
1/2 medium onion, chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, chopped fine
2 eggs
2 ounces (about 2/3 cup) grated Pecorino Romano cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions:
1.  Place 3 slices of bread in a bowl and pour enough warm water over them to moisten completely.  Let stand until softened.  Crumble beef and pork into a large mixing bowl, add onion and garlic.  Beat eggs, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper in a small bowl and add to the meats.  Break up bread and add to the meats.  Working with your hands, knead the mixture lightly until evenly blended.  The mixture should be creamy and soft.  If not, soak and add remaining slice of bread.  Chill mixture until firm, about 1/2 hour.

2.  While meatballs are chilling, start tomato sauce: In a heavy, large (about 8-quarts) pot; heat olive oil over medium heat.  Working in batches without overcrowding the pot, brown spare ribs, sausages and pork butt well on all sides, removing as they brown. (Add small amounts of oil if necessary during browning.)  When all the meat is browned, add the onion, shallots and garlic to the pot.  Cook, stirring, until the shallots and onion are lightly browned, about 4 minutes.  Place tomatoes in a bowl and break up into small pieces with a whisk or your hands.  Add tomatoes, half the fresh basil, salt, dried basil, dried oregano, red pepper and black pepper to taste. Return meat to pot.  Bring to boil, lower the heat and simmer until sauce is thickened and ribs are tender, about 2 hours.

3.  While the sauce is simmering, preheat the broiler.  Using about 1/3 cup of the meat mixture for each, roll 8 meatballs with your hands, placing them on a broiler pan as you go.  Broil until well browned on top, about 4 minutes.  Turn them and brown the second side.  Add the meatballs to the sauce gently so you  don't break up the meatballs.

4.  To serve: cook rigatoni in a large pot of boiling salted water according to the package directions.  Meanwhile, stir remaining basil into the sauce.  Drain pasta and return it to the pot.  Add enough of the sauce to lightly coat the pasta and transfer it to a large platter.  To serve family style, arrange the meats around the edge of the platter and top the pasta with more sauce.  Serve remaning sauce and grated cheese separately.

*The recipe didn't specify beef or pork spare ribs.  I went with beef, I think either would be fine

*After the meats had simmered for a while, I took the ribs out and let them cool for a few minutes, cut the meat off into bite size pieces then put the meat back into the sauce, and gave the bones to my small black dog.

*I left out the sausages, although I think they'd be super in there

*The recipe says "whole" shallots and garlic.  I think giving them a rough chop is a good idea.

Now about that "pasta", and I use that term loosely, that my sauce is sitting on.

I ran across a Michael Chiarello recipe for a pappardelle that didn't require a pasta making machine, you just roll it out.  Seemed simple enough.

It seemed to me the amount of eggs you add to the dough was completely overwhelming and impossible to work with.  I had to add about a cup of flour to make it workable, and then I really didn't get it rolled out thin enough, and it resembled dumplings a lot more than pasta.  It didn't really make enough to feed more than 2 or 3 people.  Having said that, I'm glad I gave it a try, and thought it was pretty good with the sauce.  Since it had a thicker consistency, it held up nicely to the hearty sauce. 

Spaghetti and Meatballs

So I fell off the wagon today just a little.  Or more than a little.  It was inevitable and I blame this book.

It's supposed to be about the author's year long spiritual journey, but so far to me it's just pure food porn!  Fortunately I'm up to the part where she just left Italy so hopefully it will ease up a bit.  I'm finding it a pretty good read, considering it's not about angsty teenage vampires or werewolves.

Which brings us to today's dinner....Spaghetti and Meatballs.

I've made spaghetti with meat sauce at least a million times, but never with meatballs.  Since I was off the wagon, I figured I might as well do it right.

This is a combination of Ina Garten's and Rachael Ray's Recipes.  

It's Ina's sauce, and Rachael's meatballs.  I would have liked to have gone Barefoot Contessa all the way, but Rachael's recipe let me use stuff I already had on hand.  (no fresh ground veal in the house, wouldn't ya know it!)

Rachael has you bake the meatballs rather than frying, which I suppose is a good thing...

Then they finish cooking by simmering in the sauce for about 25 minutes.  

My assessment is they're pretty good meatballs, but I'm not feeling any new spiritual awakening because of them.  

Here are the 2 recipes for you.

Meatballs:

1 1/4 pounds ground sirloin (I just used extra lean ground beef)

2 tsp worcestershire sauce

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

2 cloves garlic, chopped

salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients together, roll into 1 1/2 inch balls, place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes.

Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon good olive oil
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/2 cup good red wine, such as Chianti
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, or plum tomatoes in puree, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce, heat the olive oil in the same pan. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the wine and cook on high heat, scraping up all the brown bits in the pan, until almost all the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover, and simmer on the lowest heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. 

Serve it atop your favorite pasta and enjoy!

Wish me luck getting back on the straight and narrow tomorrow.

Bowties with Italian Sausage and Veggies

This meal is inspired by a man named Benny who works in the cafeteria where I work.

A long time ago they would have a pasta bar once or twice a month and Benny would prepare your lunch to order while singing lounge songs. Nothing like an Italian dish made by a crazy Mexican singing old white people songs. (Is there anyone I didn't offend there?)

Benny would let you pick from linguine or bowties, and you could have sausage or chicken, and he had about six or seven different veggies to pick from. But I'm not Benny so the folks at my house don't get it to order, they get it with whatever I feel like putting in there...and these are the veggies I felt like today.

He would start with some olive oil and garlic...

then throw all your veggies in till they got semi tender.

Then he would toss the pasta on top and stir that around a bit and add the meat.

He had different toppings to pick from too, but I prefer tomato. I've made it before with jarred spaghetti sauce but today I made my own and it was great!

And mine was made while singing along with Jimmy Buffett.

Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina

I'll have to say that Giada was resting on her laurels with this recipe It's got potential, but it just turned out rather blah. I know she makes some good stuff, I've made a few of her recipes that turned out really delicious.

I thought it looked pretty yummy all mixed up together, and a little bit colorful too. But it definitely needed something.

There was a fair amount of butter on top....so that wasn't the problem. Maybe it needed some more garlic, or the addition of some Italian seasonings might have been nice. Maybe a different kind of meat, some sausage may have boosted the flavor a bit.

The topping was pretty good, just a mixture of bread crumbs and parmesan.

Well, thank goodness I had some yummy no bake cookies to make up for the disappointment. (yeah that's a dirty potholder there, sorry)

A friend of mine in college would make these for us all the time and she recently sent me her recipe. I used to be able to make these but lost the touch somehow, and they would always turn out too runny or something. But her recipe is just right!

1 stick butter 2 cups sugar 3 Tablespoons Hershey's Cocoa 1/2 cup milk Stir while boiling 4 minutes over med heat. Remove from heat and stir in 1 Teaspoon Vanilla 3/4 cup Jif Peanut Butter 2 Cups quick oats Drop quickly onto wax paper and allow to cool. Eat before the kids get out of school and hide all evidence.

Buitoni Wild Mushroon Agnolotti

I know, I know...you've seen this already. I'm a little slow on the draw so just bear with me.

Being a part of the Foodbuzz community offers some perks here and there, aside from ogling over other people's delicious food. This is my first opportunity to sample a new product and give my opinion of said product. This time around I was offered the Buitoni Wild Mushroom Agnolotti. (yeah, I had to google that last word)

The pasta is a part of their new Reserva line, and contains a mushroom mixture along with fresh-roasted garlic, parmesan cheese, and imported grana padano. (uh huh, googled that one too...it's cheese in case you wondered)

I served it with a sauce made of chicken broth, butter, white wine, garlic, and green onions, along with some italian sausage.

I really enjoyed the flavors going on inside the little agnolottis, agnolottii, or whatever; and would be tickled pink to serve them again someday.

P.S. Oh check it out, I got interviewed along with 4 other bloggers by Tiffany at Eat at Home. I'm truly fascinating, if not succinct.

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta with Two Cheese Sauce

Tonight's dinner was stolen from inspired by Tiffany at Eat at Home. She just threw this together on a whim from things she had on hand, and that makes me say WOW. I suck at that.

As I mentioned before, I love roasted red peppers, and this dish gave me a good opportunity to use them. I added some chopped artichoke hearts during the sauteing step because I love those too.

Reviews were as follows:

Mom-loved it

Dad-ate it without complaint

Picky-ass children-snarled at it.

Randomness

This shot typifies my overall organization skills. Somewhat lacking.

I'm not even sure how this got here. Those darned kids!

I was reading someone's blog yesterday (Xazmin at This is the Year), and she showed her before and after of her cabinet, which inspired me to do this:

And this....Somewhat better...maybe? It may have helped more than anything that I combined the 5 bottles of Lawry's seasoning salt, and the 3 containers of cinnamon.

We'll see how long it lasts.

On a completely unrelated topic I made another diaper cake for a co-worker's upcoming baby shower.

I love the giant ric-rac. She seemed to like it.

I'm thinking of quitting my day job and becoming a full time cabinet organizer/diaper cake maker. Which means I'll probably need to come live with you...clear out a room!

Dinner last night...

Ravioli with Herbed Walnut Sauce found at Epicurious. Sounds much better than it is. But it was very quick...there's always something to be said for that.

That ends the randomness for now. Thanks for enduring!

Shrimp Scampi with Linguine

This is a Tyler Florence recipe we had for valentine's dinner. (ha! you thought that was gonna link you to the recipe....that would be here.) My husband gave it 2 thumbs up and would have given it more, if only he had more thumbs.

The only thing different I did was add a trillion times more garlic than it called for (accidentally, but it was a good accident). Thank goodness for all that garlic because I sure don't want this guy bothering me.

Stuffed Shells

I have to quote Rachael Ray and say these were YUMM-O. It is her recipe after all. I know she's a bit too perky but I usually have good luck with her recipes. Although I rarely complete them in 30 minutes. Let's get two rug rats nipping at her ankles and see how long it takes her!

I even went out and purchased some actual parmesan reggiano just for this dish. How fancy schmancy is that? (well, for me it's pretty fancy schmancy) I can't say my uncivilized taste buds really noticed and will probably just get the cheap stuff next time.

And that would be PW's buttery thyme bread sitting there in the background. They were great together.

Check out this wooden salad bowl I got at Goodwill for $3.99. I've been wanting one for a while but they're a little pricey. This one's a little scuffed up but it would be after I got a hold of it anyway.