Baked Mac n Cheese with Jalapenos

I have to tell you this might be one of the best versions of mac & cheese I've ever made. The perfect balance of salty cheese & slightly spicy jalapeno is amazing. This is definitely a keeper. I have no doubt that you will absolutely love it.

Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray

Ingredients:

1/2 pound elbow macaroni (I used penne)

3 tablespoons butter

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup of onions, finely diced

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups skim milk

½ cup pickled jalapenos from a jar, diced

1 large egg

½ cup sharp cheddar, shredded

½ cup Italian blend, shredded

4 oz reduced fat cream cheese
1/2 cup light sour cream

1 tsp kosher or sea salt

1 tsp fresh black pepper

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 cup bread crumbs 

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta until almost done.

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pan, melt the butter. Cook the garlic and the onions until soft, about 4 minutes. 
Whisk in the flour, make sure it’s not lumpy. Stir in the milk, jalapenos (add a little juice from the jar, about 2 tsp), and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes. Allow to cool a bit. 
In a small bowl, beat the egg with a little of the milk mixture, then add the egg to the pan and stir until combined. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt, pepper and stir. 
Fold the macaroni into the cheese mixture and pour into a baking dish. Top with remaining cheese. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. 
Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

Pizza Pizza!

Homemade pizza is a weekly occurrence for us. There is simply nothing that quite matches homemade pizza - it’s infinitely flexible, super easy to make, and delicious. Best of all, if you plan ahead a bit, it doesn’t take long to make, either – you can have a semi made-from-scratch pizza on the table in a half an hour. My mom is known for making homemade pizzas and she finally shared her little secret with me for the perfect crust! 

This Hot Roll Mix is absolutely perfect for making the perfect pizza crust. It's really easy and doesn't take very long at all. I love it because it's a tastes just like you made it from scratch!

Follow the directions on the back of the box to make one thick crust pizza. 

Once your dough is ready, drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle Italian seasonings, Parmesan cheese, and minced garlic. I like to let it bake for 10-12 minutes first and then add your toppings.

After about 10 minutes add your tomato sauce (we like to add some pesto too), and toppings of your choice. We just used what he had on hand already (green peppers, onions, tomatoes, and cheddar cheese). 

Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy with a big glass of wine! :)

Roasted Tomato Soup

There's nothing better than a yummy bowl of soup on a cold day. I stumbled upon this recipe at Smitten Kitchen and couldn't think of anything better to have for lunch. I mean, who doesn't like a combination of a grilled cheese and tomato soup?? I pretty much had everything on hand to make this, except the stock. So, I improvised and made my own vegetable stock! It turned out perfect and the recipe is also below. Enjoy!

 

Soup

3 pounds plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
2 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 small cloves garlic, unpeeled

1 onion, quartered
1/4 teaspoon (or more to taste) dried crushed red pepper
4 cups vegetable stock

Grilled Cheese Top
4 1-inch slices from a large loaf of whole wheat bread toasted until hard and lightly buttered on one side
1 cup grated cheddar

Make soup: Preheat oven to 400°F. Place tomatoes, cut side up, on large baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil. Add peeled garlic and onions. Roast until tomatoes are brown and tender (garlic will be very tender), about 1 hour. Cool slightly.

Transfer garlic, onions, and tomatoes and any accumulated juices to a food processor and pulse machine on and off until tomatoes are a chunky puree. Transfer tomatoes to medium pot and crushed red pepper and stock and bring to a boil Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Remove from heat and adjust seasonings to taste.

Create cheddar lid: Preheat broiler on high. Arrange four ovenproof soup bowls or large mugs on a large, foil-lined baking sheet. Float toast slice(s) in each bowl, buttered side up and divide grated cheese generously over top. Broil soups on tray for about 3-5 minutes, until cheese on top is bubbling and brown at the edges. Serve immediately.

Vegetable Stock

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 carrots, coarsely chopped
• 1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
• Several sprigs fresh thyme (I used dried thyme)
• Several sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 dried bay leaf

1. In a medium stockpot over medium-high heat, melt butter and olive oil. Add onion, and cook, stirring, until caramelized, about 8 minutes. Add carrots and celery; cook until tender, about 15 minutes.
2. Add 4 cups cold water, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and let simmer about 1 hour; liquid should be highly flavored.
3. Remove from heat, and strain stock through a fine sieve, pressing on vegetables to extract juices. Discard vegetables. Stock can be refrigerated for 3 to 4 days or frozen for up to 3 months.

Jalapeno Cheddar Cheese Bread

I love bread. Scratch that, I love carbs. I am definitely not one of those girls that could ever go on a "no carb" diet. The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. And I do. A BIG one. When I just happened to stumble across this recipe I couldn't stop thinking about it. As soon as I told Evan about it he was on board and begging me to make it. This bread was great, easy, and delicious just like all quick breads should be. It is very similar to cornbread and is delicious with a big bowl full of chili!

Recipe adapted from Pink Parsley:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces (1 cup) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 3 Tablespoons finely chopped jalapeno, veined and seeded (If you use pickled jalapenos make sure you rinse them well.)

Preheat the oven to 375, and spray an 8x3 inch loaf pan.

Sift together the flour, salt, pepper, sugar, and baking powder in a medium bowl.  Add the cheese and gently toss and stir until it is evenly distributed throughout the mixture.

Whisk the milk, oil, egg, and jalapeno, in another bowl. Pour the milk mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture.  Gently mix with a spatula, only until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and place in the oven.  Bake until the top is golden-brown, and springs back when touched in the center, about 45-50 minutes.  Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove the bread from the pan and cool completely. 

Jalapeno Cheddar Cheese Sandwich Bread

This second recipe for Jalapeno Cheddar Bread is more of a sandwich bread and is perfect for making a delicious tomato sandwich. I used to eat these all the time, and I'll never make them again unless it is on this jalapeno cheddar bread! This one is a bit more time consuming, but totally worth it.

As far as the recipe goes, it is a pretty straight forward bread recipe.  I've never really baked bread before, but I suppose there is a first time for everything! The steps are pretty standard: mix, knead, rise, shape, proof, bake.  

Recipe adapted from Pink Parsley:

• 3 3/4 cups (18 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup cold buttermilk**
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 3 Tablespoons honey
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 2-3 jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed, diced (If you use pickled jalapenos make sure you rinse them well.)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Adjust one oven rack to the lowest position, and another to the middle position.  Heat the oven to 200 degrees.  When it is preheated, maintain the temperature for 10 minutes, then turn off the oven.

Toss the jalapeno and cheddar with 1 Tablespoon of flour in a small bowl.

Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan.  Remove from heat and add the cold buttermilk and stir to combine. 

**If you don't have buttermilk on hand (which I never do) you can make your own. Pour 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice in a measuring cup. Add enough milk to bring the liquid up to one cup. Let it sit for about 5 minutes and use as needed.

Mix 3 1/2 cups of the flour and the salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.  Add the buttermilk/water mixture, butter, honey, and yeast to a liquid measuring cup.  Turn the mixer on low, and add the liquid in a slow stream, increasing the speed of the mixer as you go to medium.  Continue mixing until the dough is smooth and satiny, stopping to scrape the dough from the hook as needed.  After about 2-3 minutes add the jalapeno-cheese mixture, and continue to knead about 10 minutes total, adding flour 1 Tablespoon at a time, as necessary to keep the dough from sticking to the sides of the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead to form a smooth ball, about 15 seconds.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, rubbing the dough around the bowl to coat with the oil.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place the bowl in the oven until the dough doubles in size, 50-60 minutes.

Turn out onto the floured surface and gently press the dough into a rectangle that is 1 inch thick and 9 inches long.  With the long side facing you, roll the dough firmly into a cylinder, pressing with your fingers as you roll to make sure the dough sticks to itself.  Turn the dough seam-side up and pinch it closed.

Place the dough seam-side down in a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan, and press it gently to make sure it touches all four sides of the pan.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise in a warm spot until the dough almost doubles in size, 20-30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Place an empty baking pan on the lowest rack of the oven.  Bring 2 cups of water to a boil and pour  into the empty pan.  Set the loaf onto the middle rack, and bake until golden brown, about 40-50 minutes.

Remove the bread from the pan and cool to room temperature on a wire rack.  Slice and serve!