Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup Mac n Cheese

I can’t believe I hadn’t posted this recipe yet, because it’s one of the best things I’ve ever made, in my opinion.  Warm and comforting, delicious even on hot days.

I modified the recipe found for Grandpa John’s Mac n Cheese found here.

And a note, this is a double recipe, but it feeds Jeff and I for about 3 days, if that gives you any indication of how quickly the leftovers disappear.

Ingredients

1 lb elbow macaroni
1 package (abt 15 oz) ricotta cheese
10 oz (a bag and a half ) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 (10 oz) cans condensed tomato soup
15 oz (roughly a tomato soup can and a half) milk

Directions

– Preheat oven to 350 degrees- Place ricotta in a large (and I do mean LARGE) mixing bowl
– Cook pasta in boiling salted water for half of the cook time listed on the box (generally around 5 or 6 minutes)
– Drain pasta and pour over ricotta
– Mix together
– Stir in one bag of shredded cheese, followed by the tomato soup and the milk
– Mix until fully incorporated

Now pour the mixture into a 9 x 13 baking dish, and bake for 25 – 30 minutes.  When this time is up, switch the oven to broil, layer some more cheddar cheese on top, and broil for 2-3 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and a little crispy.

Depending on the amount of milk put in, the inside will still be a little liquidy, but it sets up as it cools.
Below is the finished product.
And I’m stuffed.  🙂

Fried Brussel Sprouts, Chicken Tater Bake, and Baked Mac and Cheese

Three completely unrelated, though delicious, recipes I made on three different nights this past week.

The first one I made as a companion to some chicken and mashed potatoes, liberally stolen again from Michael Symon and The Chew.  I left out the capers, because neither Jeff nor I are fond of them, but you can include them if you’d like.
Michael Symon’s Fried Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts and Capers

Ingredients

canola oil for deep frying
1/4 cup walnut pieces
1/2 Serrano chile, seeded and minced
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 lb Brussel sprouts (trimmed and quartered lengthwise)
1 1/2 tsp honey
1 tbsp capers
1 tbsp olive oil

Directions

1.  Pour enough oil into a medium pot so that the oil comes 3 in. deep up the sides.  Heat the oil to 350 degrees, or until you see the snakey lines.

2.  While the oil is heating, whisk together serrano, honey, red wine vinegar and olive oil in a bowl large enough to toss all the Brussel sprouts.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Keep the bowl near the stove top.

3.  Working in batches, deep-fry the Brussel sprouts until the edges begin to curl and brown, about 3 mins.  Add the walnuts and capers to the last batch.  If using capers, stand back because the capers will pop and sputter.  Give the contents of the pot a stir, remove with a skimmer and place directly into the bowl of dressing.  Toss to coat.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

These are delicious and crunchy!
This picture is what was posted on The Chew’s site… mine didn’t look quite so elegant, but were just as tasty.

Chicken Tater Bake

This is a recipe from Jeff’s Aunt Carol.  It’s extremely easy, but extremely awesome.

Ingredients

1 3-4 lb chicken or 3 boneless chicken breasts
1 32-oz package of tater tots
2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
6 tbsp margarine
6 tbsp flour
3 cups milk
1/2 to 1 onion, chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
Topping
2 cups corn flake crumbs
1/2 cup margarine (or enough to coat crumbs)

Directions

Cook chicken until done.  Remove from bones if using a whole chicken, and cut into bite size pieces.  Grease a 9 x13 pan and place tater tots in bottom of pan.  Cover with chopped chicken.  Sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt margarine.  Stir in flour and make a paste.  Add milk, onion and soup.  Stir until thick and pour over cheese layer.  Melt 1/2 cup of margarine, add corn flakes and stir to coat.  Pour over casserole and bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until bubbly.

This last recipe was a variation of baked mac and cheese that I took from Alton Brown, because I needed a quick Sunday lunch before some work.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

1/2 lb elbow macaroni
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 tbsp powdered mustard
3 cups milk
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp paprika
1 large egg
12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
1 tsp salt
pepper
Topping
3 tbsp butter
1 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta to al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter.  Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five mins.  Make sure it’s free of lumps.  Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika.  Simmer for ten mins and remove the bay leaf.

Temper in the egg.  Stir in 3/4 of the cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.  Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2 quart casserole dish.  Top with remaining cheese.

Melt butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat.  Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs.  Bake for 30 mins.  Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

Please enjoy these recipes!   …Though not necessarily all together.  🙂

Quick “Box” Mac and Cheese

Stolen liberally from the good people at Naturally Ella, because I was lazy last night and didn’t want to make an indepth dinner.  And yes, Jon, more cheezygooeycarb goodness.  We’re fans around my house.  🙂

Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins
Serves: 2

Ingredients

6 oz pasta
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
pinch of salt and pepper
1/2 tsp of garlic powder (I used garlic salt because we didn’t have garlic powder, and omitted the salt.)

 

Instructions

1. Prepare pasta according to box, drain and set aside.

2.  In a small pan, heat butter over medium-low heat until melted.  Whisk in flour and let cook for 1-2 minutes.  Whisk in milk, salt, pepper, and garlic.  Continue to whisk until mixture begins to thicken (1-2 more mins).  Once thickened, remove from heat and mix in cheese, continuing to whisk until melted.  If cheese sauce seems too thick, add a little more milk.  Stir into pasta and serve.

You can add any favorite type of vegetable to this, like broccoli, squash, onions, or anything else you can think of.

 

Anne made, Jeff approved.  That’s really all you need to know, because that man likes his cheese.  🙂