Macaroni and Cheese

I was asked to make something for a get together at Eric's uncles' house.  Not knowing what to make I asked Eric, and go figure he said to make what ever I wanted, no help to my situation.  Eventually I decided to make macaroni and cheese and it turned out great!

To make the sauce:

4 cups Whole Milk (1 quart)

8 tablespoons Unsalted Butter (1 stick)

1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour

1 tablespoon Kosher Salt

1. Heat milk in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, just until it comes to a simmer, then turn off the heat and set aside.

2. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  When completely melted add flour and whisk constantly until mixture turns light brown, about 2 minutes

3. Whisking constantly, slowly add the hot milk to the flour mixture until smooth, (It will get very thick when you first add the milk, then thin out.)

4. Return saucepan to medium-high heat, while whisking constantly, cook until the sauce thickens about 2 minutes.  Stir in 1 TEASPOON of salt, taste (3 teaspoons equal 1 tablespoon), and add more if desired (I used 2 teaspoons). Remove from heat and set aside.

Pasta and Assembling:

Kosher Salt

1 pound Elbow Macaroni

3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded Romano cheese (I used 6 Cheese Italian because it's what I had on hand)

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1. Place rack in the middle of oven and preheat to 350°F

2. In a large pot bring salted water to a boil over high heat, (I add about a tablespoon of olive oil to keep noodles from sticking.) Add pasta and cook until almost al dente (on the edge of being underdone about 6 minutes), drain and set aside. 

3. Place the pan of sauce, from earlier, over medium heat and stir in both cheeses until melted and smooth. Stir in pasta, then transfer to a 9x13 baking dish, sprinkle with bread crumbs, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until bubbling and brown on top.

Tie Dye Cake

My niece, Mia, LOVES helping me cook and bake!  Out of the many things we've made together this is one of my favorite things to bake with her.  It's a hit among the kids, I recently made it with one of the kids I work with and she loved it just as much as Mia.  

Don't worry it's much easier to make then you might think!

You'll need: 

1 box of white cake mix or from scratch

Food coloring
Frosting
Sprinkles (optional)
13x9 pan or 2 round cake pans

Don't forget to Preheat the Oven.  For some reason I always forget to do this, until I'm ready to put it in the oven. 

Make cake batter (if kids are helping I recommend the box, it's much easier and I've found they don't lose interest before you get to the really fun part.)  After the batter is made split it between 4 or 5 bowls (depending on the number of colors you want), add 5 drops of food coloring to each bowl and mix. 

Pour one color at a time into the center of the pan, layering one on top of the other until all the colors are in the pan.

  If the batter isn't evenly distributed in the pan carefully tilt it until the batter is distributed evenly.

Once batter is evenly distributed put it in the oven and bake according to the box or recipe you are following.

After it's cooled, frost and add sprinkles (if desired)

Then ENJOY!  

If you're looking for a fun dessert to take to a party this is great and is guaranteed to be a big hit.  People of all ages love this cake, it's crazy to see how amazed they are when you cut into it. 

Sushi

I love sushi and I was spending a ton on it going to restaurants, which wasn't helping me save any money.  So after watching how it's prepared at a restaurant I decided why not try it on my own, oh my goodness was it easy!  Now I didn't have a fancy bamboo roller for this batch but my lovely mother got me one for my birthday last week, so I'll let you know how much it helps.

What you'll need:
Avocados
Cream Cheese
Cucumbers 
Spicy Tuna (see recipe below)
Imitation Crab 

 Rice (what I used below)
Roasted Seaweed (what I used below)

You can put anything on your roll I picked these items because they are good on rolls and it's what I had available at the time.
 

Cook the rice, I used a rice cooker, so I could get everything else ready while it cooked, if you don't have a rice cooker that's fine the bag has step by step direction on the back that are easy to follow.

While rice is cooking cut avocado, cumcumber, and cream cheese into strips, not too think you don't want to struggle when rolling. 

Once rice is done cooking spread a thin layer on a sheet of roasted seaweed.

About an inch from the edge layer avocado, cucumber, cream cheese, and spicy tuna or crab.  

Carefully roll sushi as tightly as possible, cut roll in half then slice into smaller pieces.  I am usually able to get eight pieces from each roll.  I recommend wiping the knife off after each cut, I've found it makes it easier to slice the roll. 

For the spicy tuna:
I drained two 5oz cans of tuna in water and added 2 tablespoons of Sriracha sauce, for medium heat.  Mixed and add to your roll.

Jell-O Shots

My sisters graduated from High School this past weekend and to celebrate we had a family BBQ with friends and out of town family before they had to leave.  But what is a BBQ with out the Jell-O Shots?!?  I've had my fair share of them and I have to tell you these are by far the best one's I've had.  Now I may be bias but every other Jell-O shot I've had have been WEAK.  So here is how my family makes Jell-O Shots, and in my opinion they are stronger then the majority of the other one's I've tried.  
Don't Forget To Drink Responsibly!

I usually make them the day before so they have enough time to set up. 

  You can use the small or large box of Jell-O, if you use the larger one double the recipe.

  I like used 2 oz. cups with lids, they are the prefect size!  The only place I've been able to find them is GFS, they run about $4 for 200 cups and just over $2 for 100 lids.

Lay out the cups as shown above so you don't have to rush to do it after mixing everything together.  Each box makes about 15-18 depending on pouring skills, I usually lay out 20 to be on the safe side. 

To Make: 

Boil water; I used a tea kettle, this allows me to boil enough for a couple boxes of Jell-O, while keeping the water hot as I was making different batches.

Measure out 1 cup of boiling water in a measuring cup and stir in your choice of Jell-O (I used Berry Blue) until it's dissolved. 

Add a small hand full of crushed ice, and let melt. 

After adding the Jell-O mix and the ice the liquid level is usually about here.  If you have more that's fine.  The ice is just used to ensure the liquid isn't too warm when you add the alcohol.  

  

Fill to 1 1/2 cup mark on measuring cup with COLD water and stir.

Add 1/2 cup of alcohol (I used Rum) and stir.  After adding everything you should have 2 cups. 

Carefully pour into the 2 oz. cups you set out earlier.

Let cool for a minute or two before you put the lid on so condensation doesn't accumulate on the lid.  I usually label the lids during this time.  What I do is write the Jell-O and the alcohol used so

Berry Blue Jell-O with Rum is BR

Put in the fridge, let solidify and ENJOY! 
If you are making multiple flavors I recommend making a key so you don't get the flavors mixed up.  We had 15 different flavors and man did the key come in handy!

A Dinner The Whole Family Will Like

It was requested that I share a meal I prepared for a great group of people, a few months ago, who have become like a second family to me.  The picture is of the whole meal and not of individual dishes making it a little harder to see how it turned out but believe me when I say it's easy to make and EVERYONE will love it!  The meal consisted of Braised Balsamic Chicken, Eggplant with Garlic Sauce, Rice Noodles and Broccoli as a back up for the eggplant and for dessert, Banana Caramel Cream.  I will be sharing how to make the Chicken, Eggplant and Rice Noodle dishes.  As for the dessert I will leave that for another time! These are all really easy and fairly quick recipes, that everyone will like.  EVEN THOSE PICKY EATERS!

Braised Balsamic Chicken (6 Servings)
  
You'll Need:
6 Chicken breasts (any that you prefer)
Garlic Powder, Season Salt, Pepper, Parsley Flakes, Mrs.Dash
3 tablespoons Olive or Canola Oil
1 Onion, diced
1 can Diced Tomatoes (14.5 oz)
1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar 
Basil, Rosemary, Thyme

Preheat oven to 350

Clean the chicken you will be using, I used skinless and boneless Chicken Breasts but you can use what ever you prefer (if making this whole meal I would recommend using breast halves, unless you want left overs for lunch the next day.)  

Season both sides of the chicken with 

Garlic powder, pepper, season salt, Parsley flakes, Herb and Garlic Mrs.Dash and any other seasons would like (If you don't have or like something listed no biggie just use the seasonings you prefer)

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat.  Cook seasoned chicken until sides are browned, about 3 minutes on each side.  While chicken is browning, in small frying pan heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.  Add onions, cook and stir until onion is caramelized (browned), about 5 minutes.  

Place chicken in baking dish pour caramelized onion, diced tomatoes, and balsamic vinegar over chicken, then season with Basil, Rosemary and Thyme.  Bake until chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear, 15-20 minutes and ENJOY!

Eggplant with Garlic Sauce

You'll Need
3 tablespoons Olive or Canola Oil
4-5 medium Chinese Eggplant, cut into 1 inch half moons
1 cup Water
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
5 teaspoons White Sugar
1 teaspoon Cornstarch
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 tablespoons Oyster Sauce (I found this on the international aisle and is fairly cheap)

Heat olive oil in a frying pan over high heat, cook and stir eggplant until soft, 5 minutes.  

Stir in 
water, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder. 

Cover and simmer until all the water is absorbed, I had a small amount that didn't want to dissolve so if that is the case for you don't worry.  

While waiting, mix 
sugar, cornstarch, soy sauce, and oyster sauce in a small bowl until the sugar and cornstarch have dissolved.  

When there is little to no water left to be absorbed stir sauce into the eggplant, making sure to evenly coat the eggplant.  Cook for 4-5 minutes or until sauce has thickened.  Mix with rice noodles and ENJOY!

I've made this dish multiple times since this dinner, I have even started adding tofu making it a meal instead of just a side dish.  When I add the tofu I double the ingredients required for the sugar, cornstarch mixture and let it soak for a few hours before I start the eggplant, so it can soak up the flavors.  The first time I made it I also left out the crushed red pepper flakes because not everyone wanted the spice added and it was still good!


Rice Noodles

You'll Need 
6 cups Water
1 packet of Rice Noodles
1 teaspoon Olive or Canola Oil
Salt to taste

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a pot with a lid.  Remove from heat, add the packet of rice noodles and cover, with lid.  Let them soak in the water for 15 minutes or as the package specifies.  

Drain water and rinse with cold water to stop any further cooking.

No Bake Cookies

My boyfriend, Eric LOVES no bake cookies, and with me going to see him in a few days I figured I'd surprise him with a batch.  I love these cookies because they are easy to make and there is NO BAKING! So the house stays cool and more importantly I CAN'T burn them!  Today I made a batch of original No-Bake Cookies, for Eric, and a batch of Peanut Butter Almond No-Bake Cookies because I was in the mood to try something new.  And let me tell you the Peanut Butter Almond No-Bakes turned out AMAZING!

Original No-Bake Cookies

In a medium sauce pan combine

1 3/4 cups Sugar

1/2 cup Milk

1/2 cup Butter

4 tbsp. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder 

Bring to a boil, and cook for 1 1/2 minutes stirring continuously.  Remove from heat and stir in 

1 1/2 cup Peanut Butter 

3 cups Old Fashioned Oats (I used Quaker Quick Oats)

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Drop by spoonfuls onto parchment paper, freezer paper or wax paper.  Which ever you have!  Let them sit about 10 min. or long as you can stand.  And don't forget to lick the spoon!

Peanut Butter Almond Cookies

For these I 

replaced Milk with Almond Milk

added 1 tsp. of Almond Extract

reduced Vanilla Extract to 1/2 tsp.

 

I wanted to add some shaved almonds but didn't have any on hand, so next time I'm definitely going to.  And I may even leave out the cocoa powder.

Here Goes Nothing....

I've been cooking for years but have recently started sharing my love for food with friends and family, in doing so it was suggested that I start a blog so I could share the recipes I use and the pictures of how it turned out, instead of just pictures. 

So this blog is my love for food, with the recipes I use, problems I ran into while making it (suggestions for others), mess up because no one does it right every time, and pictures of the food I've created. Along with things I will probably change the next time I make the dish because cooking is experimenting, there's nothing wrong from straying from the way everyone else does it. Also I'm not a baker so please don't expect a ton of baked goods because sorry but that's not my passion. You can expect to see the dishes I prepare on a budget that will taste like there is no budget, along with easy to follow directions on how to create the same dish yourself. Even for those who aren't so good at cooking. I know the struggle, remember YOU ARE YOUR OWN WORSE CRITIC! 

I enjoy sharing my love for cooking with my family! I don't get to see my boyfriend very often but when I do I want to spend as much time with him as possible and going to a restaurant isn't always in the budget. So instead of me doing all the cooking he loves to help where he can, let's just say he need a little help. He does makes up for his lack of cooking skills in his baking skills, which I lack, so it works out great for us. While cooking we talk and have a great time with together. When it's time to eat we enjoy the meal we prepared together making it that much better. So I recommend cooking with your loved ones, and don't forget HAVE FUN even if you mess up NO ONE GETS IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME EVERY TIME, I'm speaking from experience. 

I will try to share at least 2 recipes a week, so be on the look out for new dishes to try. If you use a recipe let me know how it turned out for you, I love hearing what was liked/disliked along with what if anything you changed. I don't mind sharing but I do ask that you don't use my pictures/recipes as your own, take the time to create the dish if you want the picture. So create and share with me, and know that no matter what  

THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS!