MIL Mac and Cheese

This is a recipe that Mark grew up with, so of course, I had to find out how to make it. It is just good old fashioned mac and cheese. It is served with every holiday dinner and other meals in between. I made it this past weekend for a progressive dinner to great reviews. Oh, and it is definatley NOT light.

MIL Mac and Cheese

1 cup uncooked macaroni
1 lb sharp chedder cheese
1/3 cup sugar (we use less)
2 eggs
~ 1 1/4 cup milk "whole milk is best, but 2% will do" ps-granny uses cream.
1/2 tsp salt

- cook macaroni until just starting to get soft (I usually do 9 minutes)
- cut up cheese into cubes 1/2" thick and put into a 2 Qt baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.
- add 2 eggs and sugar to the cheese.
- drain the macaroni and pour hot pasta into the baking dish.
- Add some milk. Stir. Add some more until milk is about 3/4" from the top.
- Bake at 375 for 45 minutes to 1 hour until top and bottom are brown. It usually takes around an hour or more.

Enjoy!

Holiday Showcase

Wow, Dec 6th...I am getting worse and worst at this. So sorry, I know that all of you have been waiting on pins and needles to hear what this month's challenge is. This challenge was actually my sister's idea. She wanted an excuse to show off her Thanksgiving menu and came up with having a Holiday Showcase. Any traditional holiday dishes are fair game, as is anything you make for the first time for a holiday purpose. Happy Cooking everyone!

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

I found this recipe in a magazine at my mom's house on Thanksgiving. It sounded neat and I decided to try it because I had leftover pumpkin.

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes (14.5oz)
1 can pumpkin puree (16oz)
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 gloves garlic, minced
4 Tbsp olive oil
4 cups vegetable broth
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ground pepper
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1. Place oil, red onion, garlic and seasonings in a large pot.

2. Cook on low to medium heat until onion and garlic brown.

3. Puree the beans and tomatoes with half of the broth. Add to pot.

4. Simmer uncovered until think, about 40-45 minutes. Before serving add the balsamic vinegar.

We thought this was pretty good. Although it needed a little spicing up. I'm not sure what to try. I thought I might add some corriander next time. Any suggestions?

Also, it needs some kind of sharp cheese or sandwich to go with it too. All we had on hand were some crackers.

Sorry, I have no pictures!

Minnesota Wild Rice Soup

I thought I remembered Robin posting this on the blog, but I couldn't find it. Instead I found her recipe on her recipe archive. It just sounded like a nice, healthy, hearty little soup.

So, I thought it was called "Minnesota Wild Rice Soup" because it would help keep you warm in Minnesota. Turns out, Minnesota is where they grow the wild rice...who would have thought? Also, it is pretty hard to find wild rice at the grocery store. I had to buy 2 boxes of real Minnesota Wild Rice at $3.99 each...yikes!

This was a pretty good soup. For some reason, I was thinking it would have cheese and chicken in it...I guess I have had one too many chicken and wild rice casseroles! I served it with homemade white bread. Not sure if I will make it again, but we did enjoy it.

Root Vegetable Soup

I've got one more that I tried this month ... a nice smooth Root Vegetable Soup. I love pureed soups so this was a great find. Also, if you are curious about using other winter veggies like rutabagas and parsnips but don't know what to do with them it is a good experimental recipe.

3 carrots, chopped
1 large potato, chopped
1 large parsnip, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 T. sunflower oil
2 T. butter
1.5 quarts water
1 1/4 c. milk
3 T. creme fraiche or sour cream
fresh dill
salt/pepper

Put carrots through onion in a large saucepan with the oil and butter and fry lightly. Cover and sweat over low heat for 15 minutes, shaking pan occasionally. Pour in water, bring to a boil and season well. Cover and simmer 20 min. until the veggies are soft. Using a food processor puree soup until smooth. Return to pan and add milk and stir to reheat. Remove from heat and stir in creme fraiche ... top with dill.

Looking for a Quick, Delicious Meal?

Then this French Onion Soup recipe is NOT for you. OMG! Talk about the longest cooking session ever. This probably would have been okay, but I didn't really plan for the commitment. I am not great at Prior Proper Planning...

First you cook the onions in the oven for over 2 hours.

Then you saute the onions for another... hour.

Then you actually add some ingredients and it has to simmer for like ...an hour!! Then you have to toast up some bread and broil with the cheese!!

Whew!! The recipe I found was nice because it had so many pictures. I knew I didn't cook mine enough when it didn't match the pictures:) My parents and I just had some and they like it...I guess it was worth it!!

Slow cooker Beef and Barley Soup

Since I had barley leftover from last week, I found this recipe that I could do in my crockpot.



It took some prep to do before you put it in the crockpot. I am usually against that. The soup turned out ok. I swear the carrots still weren't quite done after being in the crockpot all day. The meat had a nice texture...not buttery like the stew I posted, but fine. The barely turned out really good though.

To be honest, the entire time I was making this I keep thinking how good a mushroom and barley soup sounded. Doesn't that sound good?

I served it with some homemade wheat bread from my breadmachine.