Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese

Tags

cheese, evaporated milk, macaroni, pasta, vegetarian

When I was a kid, Kraft mac and cheese was one of the tastiest lunches. Especially since it came in so many different shapes and characters (for some reason, the fun shapes seemed to taste better to me). When I went to college, it became all about easy mac. Quick, easy, and didn’t need a stove since I only had a microwave in my dorm room. And I haven’t had it since… 6 or more years since I used powdered cheese to make mac and cheese, and I can’t say I miss it but I do miss a nice and easy stovetop macaroni and cheese.

This stovetop mac and cheese was so good! From what I remember, it tastes similar to Kraft, but is sooo much better! And you can adjust the cheeses to whatever you prefer, as with any mac and cheese recipe. And like usual, I’ve upped the pasta amount from the original recipe. In my defense, I started with 8 ounces of pasta, but I just had so much extra sauce around the pasta so I had to make use of it! Besides, since when is more mac and cheese a bad thing! 🙂Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese
Note: Use any combination of Cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, and American cheese to total 12 ounces.

2 eggs
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk, divided
1 teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
16 ounces elbow macaroni or other small pasta
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1½ cups)
6 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (about 1½ cups)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, 1 cup of the evaporated milk, dry mustard, salt, and pepper; set aside.

In a large pot, prepare pasta according to package directions, cooking until al dente. Drain the pasta and return to pot over low heat. Add butter and stir until completely melted. Add the egg mixture and three-quarters of the cheese mixture to the pasta; stir until cheese starts to melt. Gradually add the remaining evaporated milk and remaining cheese mixture, stirring constantly, until the mixture is hot and creamy, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Source: Adapted from Cooks Illustrated via Brown Eyed Baker

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Crock Pot Italian Chicken

Tags

cheese, chicken, Italian, slow cooker, tomato

Looking for a super easy and super tasty chicken recipe? Then look no further! This recipe consists of dumping everything in your slow cooker, then walking away for 8 hours. Come back, and dinner is ready!! It’s flavorful, easy, and leaves you with lots of leftovers for lunches at work or dinners. I’ve only tried it over pasta, but this past time I made it, I was thinking that it might even work as a sandwich. Throw some chicken on a french roll, melt some mozzarella on top and you have a delicious Italian chicken sandwich. Definitely going to have to try that next time I make this, which I’m sure will be fairly soon!Crock Pot Italian Chicken

4 chicken breasts
½ cup light Italian salad dressing
1 (24-ounce) jar tomato sauce
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dried basil
½ tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried parsley
Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese for topping

Place all ingredients in crock pot except cheeses and cook on low for 8 hours. Shred chicken with fork. Serve over pasta of your choice; top with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

Source: Adapted from Ryan Bakes

Quick Cheese Bread

Tags

bread, Cheddar, cheese, Parmesan

I absolutely love carbs… bread, pasta, bread with pasta… I always like to have a side of bread when we have pasta or soup for dinner. Unfortunately, I don’t normally plan far enough in advance to make my own bread, and I don’t want to run to the store just to buy bread. One of these days, I’ll plan ahead. There are way to many yeast bread recipes I want to try! In the meantime, I’ll stick to my quick breads. 🙂 This cheese bread is a wonderful savory quick bread, so it’s a perfect accompaniment to pastas and soups!

A layer of Parmesan cheese on the top and the bottom, with a moist delicate center that’s studded with more cheese. This bread isn’t overly cheesy tasting, but it has the perfect balance of flavors, along with some cayenne and black pepper to truly make this a savory bread. I definitely plan on making this bread in the future when I need a quick bread with dinner! And I’m curious to try this as a base recipe, to try to tweak it to an Italian version with Parmesan and maybe mozzarella, spiced up with basil and oregano, and maybe even some garlic… I’ll be sure to let you know if I try that out, but in the meantime try this yummy cheese bread!Quick Cheese Bread

3 ounces Parmesan cheese, shredded and divided (about 1 cup)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces extra-sharp cheddar, cut into ½-inch cubes
1¼ cups milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg, lightly beaten
¾ cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray, then sprinkle ½ cup Parmesan cheese evenly over the bottom of the pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cayenne, salt and pepper. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the cheddar until all the cheese is well coated with the flour mixture. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, butter, egg and sour cream. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined; do not over mix. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, smoothing the top with the rubber spatula. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan evenly over the top of the batter.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (keep in mind when testing for doneness that a pocket of cheese may look like uncooked batter). Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then turn out and cool completely before cutting.

Source: Cook Like A Champion

Lasagna Soup

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cheese, Italian, mozzarella, pasta, ricotta, sausage

I’ve recently discovered Google Reader and it has since become one of my favorite websites/phone apps. It makes it so easy to keep up on all the blogs I follow! I was reading through some of the blogs I follow and over my shoulder I hear, “Ooo, I want that!” Apparently my husband was looking over my shoulder and had seen the words lasagna and soup. That was all he needed and he wanted some! He loves soup, and he loves the meat-pasta-cheese combo so this soup was perfect for him. And I must say, he made a great decision in picking this soup! I had most of the ingredients on hand so I just needed to grab a couple other things and I was ready to go. This soup was amazing, and perfect comfort food! The taste is very similar to skillet lasagna, which is another tasty and easy lasagna alternative. Stirring cheese into the soup broth makes it creamy and reminiscent of the layers of lasagna, where sauce and cheese and meat all meld into one delicious flavor. Top if off with a nice ricotta mixture, and you have yourself and quick and easy lasagna, but in scrumptious soup form! Lasagna Soup

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
½ tablespoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 – 8 ounces spiral or curly pasta
½ cup chopped fresh basil
⅓ cup plus 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, divided
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese, plus more for topping
½ cup lowfat ricotta

In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil until it shimmers. Add the sausage, onion, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is crumbled and browned, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, oregano, salt, and crushed red pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors are blended, about 20 minutes. Add desired amount of noodles; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in mozzarella, basil, and the 3 tablespoons Parmesan.

While the pasta cooks, thoroughly mix ricotta with ⅓ cup Parmesan. Serve each bowl of soup topped with a few tablespoons of ricotta mixture. Garnish with additional mozzarella cheese.

Source: Adapted from Spiffy Cookie

Croque Monsieur/Madame

Tags

Bechamel sauce, cheese, French, ham, Mornay sauce

I have always loved France. That’s why, when it came time to pick what language I wanted to study in middle school, I chose French. I continued on through high school, and over the course on my studies I learned about the language, the culture, and the food. And I fell in lovewith the food. When I first learned about Orangina and Nutella, I thought they were the coolest things ever. Granted, to this day, I still think Nutella is one of the most amazing foods though I did get over my Orangina craze…Another food I remember learning about was the croque monsieur. It’s basically a fancy grilled ham and cheese sandwich, but it’s oh so good! Typically made with Gruyère or Emmantal (both Swiss cheeses) and a Bechamel or Mornay sauce, this sandwich first emerged in Paris in the early 1900s. Its creamy and cheesy and decadent. A perfect Parisian treat! Add an egg and you have yourself a croque madame! Croque Monsieur or Croque Madame
Yield: 2 sandwiches

Mornay Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
¼ cup Gruyere cheese, shredded
Pinch of ground nutmeg

Sandwiches:
4 slices firm white sandwich bread
4 ounces thinly sliced Black Forest ham
½ cup Gruyère cheese, shredded
2 eggs, optional

Preheat broiler, with oven rack set in center of oven.

To make the Mornay sauce: In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add flour and whisk for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk. Increase heat to medium-high and boil until sauce thickens, whisking constantly, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, add nutmeg and Gruyère cheese; stir to combine and melt the cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

To make the sandwiches: Place bread slices on baking sheet and bake for 3 to 4 minutes, or until toasted. Flip bread over and toast for another 2 or 4 minutes. Top two pieces of bread, each with half the ham and 2 tablespoons Gruyère. Top with remaining bread. Spoon Mornay sauce, then ¼ cup grated cheese over sandwiches. Bake for 5 minutes on center rack, then move the rack to the top position and broil for 3 to 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown on top. Serve immediately.

To make a Croque Madame, fry an egg sunny side up and place on top of the sandwich before serving.

Source: Adapted from Bon-Appétit and Ina Garten