Mac&Cheese is good for you...

Warning: This is not a healthy recipe. My aunt gave me this recipe awhile back but hers apparently used less cheese. When I wrote the recipe down, I somehow thought she said more cheese. Anyways, now Mike won't let me use less cheese because he said it's too good this way and we shouldn't sacrifice. haha. If you are feeling brave, go for it...you will enjoy!

Mac & Cheese

3/4 lb of noodles

1 small velveeta block (cut into small chunks)

1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk

1/2 stick of butter (I did use light!) (cut into 4 pieces)

1 cup of shredded cheddar

salt & pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Cook noodles as directed on package. In a sauce pan, heat evaporated milk on medium. Add in butter to let melt. Slowly add in chunks of the velveeta, stir and let melt before adding more. Stir occasionally so the cheese does not burn onto the bottom of the pan. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Once noodles are drained, pour into 9x13 baking dish. Pour melted cheese mixture over top and stir throughout. Bake on 350 for 15 mins (until cheese is bubbling in pan). Top with shredded cheddar and return to oven. Bake until cheese on top is melted and browning...about 10 minutes. You don't want the cheese in the noodles to thicken too much so that it will still be creamy.

If it's Lasagna, I'll take it.

I've tried making lasagna once before in the crockpot. It was good, but I wasn't completely satisfied. For that particular recipe, you were supposed to break the noodles into small pieces and then you just stir everything together and let it cook. On this second attempt, I wanted to do something that would produce a layered lasagna so I gave it a shot. There is a lot of room in this recipe to add or change whatever you would like....veggies, sausage, etc. It's a basic recipe but it was delicious. I'm really not that picky when it comes to lasagna ...as long as there are noodles, meat and a lot of cheese. This recipe doesn't disappoint in those areas. It basically melted in my mouth...perfect!

Crockpot Lasagna

1 lb lean ground beef

1/2 large onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

8 oz package of no-bake lasagna noodles

1 jar of spaghetti sauce (I used a little more than 1 jar actually)

1/3 cup of milk (I used ff)

15 oz of ricotta cheese (I used part-skim)

1 egg

1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar

1 cup of 6 cheese italian (shredded)

1. Using a little olive oil, add onion and garlic to a saute pan. Then add beef. Over medium heat, cook until completely browned. Add sauce to meat and simmer for a few minutes.

2. Mix milk with ricotta cheese, add egg and mix completely. Add shredded cheeses and mix well.

3. Using cooking spray or crisco, cover sides and bottom of crockpot.

4. Pour 1/4 of meat mixture into crockpot, then a layer of noodles (you will probably need to break them in order to fit), followed by a layer of the 1/3 cheese mixture. Repeat 3 times. Then top with remaining meat mixture. Make sure all noodles around the edges are covered with sauce

5. Cook on low for 4-5 hours.

Ooey Gooey...Chicken Pasta

This recipe comes all the way from my peeps up in VA. Actually, it comes directly from my 'uncle' Mark. He's a down home southern boy through and through and although his food isn't fancy, it sure is good! He told me about this easy baked pasta he made with baked chicken and now it's on heavy rotation at our house. Well, like twice a month....close enough. Anyways, this seems like a very plain baked ziti type dish but there is just something about it. I think the chicken really changes the flavor of it all together. And for all of you foodie goddesses out there, this can be a blank slate for you...although I would suggest you try it as is first. And I don't measure anything for this dish...sorry...but I'll give it my best guess. But, here is for a big lasagna pan, which I usually half this amount when it's just me and Mike.

Baked Chicken Pasta

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 large jar of spaghetti sauce (I used Newman's Own Tomato & Basil)

1 lb box of penne pasta

3/4 cup of ff ricotta cheese (sometimes I add cream cheese, cottage cheese or sour cream too)

1-2 cups of shredded cheese (I use a mix of ff cheddar with 6 cheese italian)

Bake chicken (covered) on 350 for one hour. I literally take it out of the package, plop it in a baking dish, cover with foil and throw it in the oven. Let chicken cool and then pull apart with fingers. I usually cook the chicken the night before, shred it and throw in the fridge. Cook pasta as directed. In a sauce pan, add shredded chicken and spaghetti sauce (I put enough to cover the chicken plus some) and whatever spices you like (I use garlic, onion and crushed red pepper). Simmer on low-med until warmed through. Drain and pour pasta into your baking dish. Add ricotta cheese and mix into hot noodles. Pour spaghetti sauce mixture over pasta and mix in. Top with shredded cheese. Bake on 350 for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!

A very busy Friday

Before heading down the beach for DH's birthday weekend, I had a few things to take care of in the kitchen... because I just had to have foods for all of our friends at the beach. I must have been feeling particularly 'inspired' because I had not one, not two, but three things on my list to make. We'll start with the banana chocolate chip cookies from the blog Annie's Eats. These turned out so great and were really yummy. I followed her recipe exactly because well, frankly, I'm not exactly good with tweaking just yet. These didn't need any changes so it worked out just fine. Here is her recipe:

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temp

1 cup sugar

1 egg, at room temp

1 cup of mashed bananas (about 2 1/2 large bananas) - (I used 2)

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups flour

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 cup chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer (I used a hand mixer), cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and continue to beat until well incorporated.

In a bowl, mix the mashed bananas and baking soda. Let sit for 2 minutes. The baking soda will react with the acid in the bananas which will in turn give the cookies their lift and rise.

Mix the banana mixture into the butter mixture. Mix together the flour, salt and spices and sift into the butter and banana mixture until just combined.

Fold chocolate chips into the batter. Drop into dollops on baking sheet lined with parchment paper (I just used cooking spray on a cookie sheet). Bake for 11-13 minutes or until nicely golden brown. Let cool on wire racks.

Source: Annie's Eats, originally from Simply Recipes

I just love the way the ooey gooey chocolate looks in this picture above

Next up was oatmeal fudge bars from Blonde Ambition in the Kitchen. I was the most excited about these. The picture on her blog made my mouth water. For the most part, they turned out great. In her blog, you will see that she used a 9x13 pan but the original recipe called for a 10x15 jelly roll pan. I used the jelly roll pan. I think I should have cut the baking time down by a couple mins and checked them. Also, I was a little confused by the 'dollups' on the top of the fudge mixture. I think I did them too big and too far apart. Either way, these tasted really good and I'll definitely make them again. Here is her recipe:

Oatmeal Fudge Bars

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 cups Quaker quick cooking oatmeal
2 cups Semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk (15 oz.)
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts (optional, walnuts or pecans) (I did not use - I meant to actually but forgot)

Preheat oven to 325.
Grease and flour a 10x15 jelly roll pan.
In a large bowl sift together flour, soda and salt. Set aside.
In large mixing bowl, beat together softened butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, one at a time and beat until combined. Add vanilla and mix well.
Slowly add the sifted flour mixture and mix until combined. Stir in oatmeal.
Gently spread 2/3 crust into bottom of prepared pan. Reserve the rest for topping.
Make the filling:
Over Medium-Low heat, melt together chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, 2 tablespoons butter, and salt. Stir until smooth. Remove mixture from heat and stir in vanilla and nuts if using.
Evenly pour filling mixture of crust but keeping filling about a 1/4 inch away from side of pan so it does not stick to side while baking. Evenly dollup top of filling with remaining oat mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until topping is light brown and fudge layer set but not solid. Don't overbake these bars or they can become dry. Cool in pan on rack until set. Can chill to set faster. Keep stored in airtight container either room temp or in fridge.

Lastly, I made a very simple Pasta Salad from my friend, Lani's, blog. The recipe is here. The only thing I left out was the artichoke hearts and I added diced celery. It was a perfect, cool snack for the beach.

Penne a la Delicious..I mean, Betsy!

One look at this deliciousness on Pioneer Woman's blog and I knew it was going to be heavenly...and in our tummies real soon. I love me some shrimp, that's for sure. I had been planning to make this for the last two weekends in a row and finally got around to it last night (I'm not sure what took me so long...I don't have kids, I don't work 2 jobs ...ok, whatever). I tend to get a little intimidated by recipes and I admit I was nervous about this one too. Boy was I surprised when I realized how easy and relatively quick it was to make. This dish has a lot of flavor and a lot of shrimp, but it is so light and oh so good. I really felt like it came right out of a restaurant...it did, Kelly's Deli...hehe. You must try this one out. It is so worth it. This is one of those meals to make for guests...I definitely think they would be impressed. Here is the original recipe with some of my changes too:

Penne a la Betsy

Ingredients:

¾ lb. penne pasta

3 tbsp. butter, divided (I used smart balance light)

3 tbsp. olive oil, divided

1 lb. large shrimp (I used 1 lb of medium white shrimp) - I also added 1/4 lb of bay scallops...yum!

1 small white onion, finely chopped (I used a shallot)

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup white wine (or chicken broth) (I used Riesling)

1 (8 oz.) can plain tomato sauce

1 cup heavy cream (I substituted with 3/4 of ff milk and 1/3 cup of melted butter)

1 tbsp. fresh parsley

chopped basil leaves, to taste (use a bunch!)

Directions:

Boil water and cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, while water heats and pasta cooks, make the sauce. Melt 1 tbsp. butter and 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet. Add the shrimp and cook for a few minutes, until opaque. Remove to a plate to let cool. Heat 2 tbsp. butter and 2 tbsp. olive oil in the skillet. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally. While the onion and garlic are cooking, chop the shrimp into small, bite-sized pieces. Add the wine (or chicken broth) to the pan and allow to reduce for a few minutes. Chiffonade the basil leaves and set aside. Stir in tomato sauce. Add the heavy cream and stir well to combine. Add shrimp back to the skillet and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the parsley and basil and mix well.

Drain pasta and return to pot. Add the sauce to the pot and stir well to combine. Serve.

Thanks to Annie's Eats for the nice typed up version of the recipe that you see above!