Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and Cheese

serves 10

1lb elbow pasta
4 tbsp butter
1 sm red onion chopped
1/4 c. all purpose flour ( spooned and leveled)
4c. milk
2 1/2 c. colby jack shredded cheese
8 ounces diced ham
2 slices of white or wheat bread toasted.
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook the pasta according to directions; drain and set aside. Meanwhile, in a five quart heavy pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Whisk in the flour to coat the onion. In a slow, steady stream, whisk in the milk until there are no lumps. Cook, whisking often, until the mixture is thick and bubbly and coats the back of a wooden spoon, this will take about 6-8 minutes, have patience. Season with salt and pepper,add colby jack and whisk til melted. Toss the pasta with the cheese mixture; fold in ham. Transfer to a greased 9 x 13in baking dish. In a food processor or a magic bullet pulse til large crumbs form. Toss together with the remaining 1/2 c. of colby jack cheese. Top the pasta with the breadcrumb mixture. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Chicken Carbonara

Chicken Carbonara

3 skinless chicken breasts
10 slices of bacon
1 lb of spaghetti
3 large eggs
3/4 c. grated parmesan cheese plus more for serving
1/2 c. half and half

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large stock pot get water boiling, put spaghetti in and cook according to directions. Do not drain spaghetti this all must be timed to be done togther with chicken and bacon. Place bacon on aluminum foil on a cookie sheet. Bake until crisp, remove from foil and put on paper towel, when cool, crumble it. While that is cooking, season the chicken with salt and pepper and cook in a large skillet with olive oil til cooked thru. Color=flavor. In a large mixing bowl, beat three eggs with half and half and grated parmesan set aside. When spaghetti is al dente, drain the spaghetti but leave some water behind. Add the spaghetti to the egg mixture along with the cooked chicken and crumbled bacon. The hot pasta will cook the egg mixture, make sure to stir the pasta. Serve immediately.

Beef and Broccoli bowl

Beef and Broccoli Bowl

1 (3 1/2 ounce ) bag boil-in-bag long grain rice
1/4 c. low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp hoisin sauce

1 (12 oz ) boneless sirloin steak, cut into thin strips.

2 tsp canola oil

2 c. broccoli florets

1 c. slice red onion

1 c. chopped carrot- optional

1/2 c. water

2 tsp dark sesame oil

1/3 c. slice green onion

Cook rice according to directions.

Combine soy sauce, corn starch and hoisin sauce, a whisk is helpful. Add beef; toss to coat. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat pan. Remove beef from marinade and add to hot skillet, cook 2 minutes until browned, flipping or stirring occasionally so all sides are browned, do not over cook otherwise the meat will be tough. Remove beef from pan. Add broccoli and the 4 ingredients to pan; cook 4 minutes or until broccoli is crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Add reserved marinade to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute. Add beef back to pan; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with green onions and serve over rice.

Crustless Spinach and Mushroom Quiche

 10oz pkg of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
4 slices of bacon
1tbsp olive oil
2 c. coarsely chopped button mushrooms
1/2 c. chopped red sweet pepper
1 1/2c. shredded swiss
8 eggs
2 c. half and half
2 tbsp snipped fresh chives
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 c. of packaged biscuit mix such as jiffy buttermilk biscuit mix

Line a 3 1/2 - 4 qt slow cooker with a liner or generously spray it with non stick spray. Using clean paper towels press spinach to remove as much liquid as possible, set aside.

In a medium skillet cook bacon until crispy ( or put in oven at 350 until crispy) drain, crumble and set aside. Discard drippings from pan. In same skillet heat oil over medium heat and add mushrooms and sweet pepper. Cook and stir until tender. Stir in spinach and cheese.

In a medium bowl combine eggs, half and half, chives, salt and pepper. Stir egg mixture into spinach mixture in skillet. Gently fold in biscuit mix. Pour egg mixture into prepared slow cooker. Sprinkle with bacon or you can mix the bacon in with the egg mixture which I have done.

Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or on high 2-2 1/2 hours or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15-30 min before serving. 

Cashew Chicken

Cashew Chicken

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless, chicken breasts cut into 1 inch cubes
1 tbsp cornstarch
coarse salt and pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil
6 garlic cloves, minced ( or 1tbsp jarred minced garlic is what I used)
8 scallions, white and green parts separated, each cut into 1 inch pieces
2 tbsp rice vinegar
3 tbsp Hoisin sauce
1/4 c. raw cashews, toasted ( spread the cashews on a baking sheet, and toast in a 350 degree oven until golden and fragrant, about ten minutes, do this before cooking the chicken, or you can forget to do this like i did and just toss them in at the end of cooking)

In a medium bowl, toss the chicken with the cornstarch until the chicken is coated; season with 3/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. In a large non stick skillet, heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Cook half the chicken, tossing often until browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer to plate.
Add the remaining oil and chicken to the skillet along with the garlic and the white parts of the scallions. Cook, tossing often, until the chicken is browned, about 3 minutes. Return the first batch of chicken to the pan. Add the vinegar, cook until evaporated, about 30 seconds. Add the hoisin sauce and 1/4 c. water, cook, tossing, until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Stir in the green parts of the scallions and the cashews. Serve immediately over white rice. Recipe from Everyday Food Fast.

Pork Quesadilla's

Pork Quesadilla's

1 large garlic clove, unpeeled
1 tbsp vegetable oil, plus more for grates
1 pork tenderloin (3/4 to 1lb)
1 large red onion, cut into 1/2 inch-thick slices
4 tbsp spicy brown mustard, plus more for serving
4 flour tortilla's ( I used low carb)
6 oz thinly slice deli ham
3-4 dill pickles, thinly sliced lengthwise or use the sandwich stacker pickles
8 oz provolone or swiss, coarsely shredded ( I used a mozzarella provolone shredded cheese)

Place the unpeeled garlic clove on a cutting board and smash with the flat side of a knife blade. Peel off the papery skin and discard, trim away the root end. Holding the tip of the blade steady on the cutting board with your free hand and rocking the base of the blade back and forth, chop the garlic into coarse even pieces. Gather the chopped garlic in a pile, sprinkle generously with coarse salt. Place the flat side of the knife blade on top; press firmly, pulling the knife toward you. Repeat until a paste forms. In a small bowl, combine with a 1/4 tsp pepper and the oil. Rub all over pork. ( if you do not want to use fresh garlic, you can substitute 1/8 tsp of garlic powder) The originial recipe has this done on a grill, well i don't have a grill, so I improvised. Heat a large pan, add 1-2 tbsp of vegetable oil or olive oil. Make sure not to burn the oil. Brown both sides of the pork, transfer to a cookie sheet and put in the oven at 350 degrees until a thermometer reads a 160 degrees when inserted in the center. Meanwhile cook the onions until soft and caramelized, set aside. When the pork is done, cut the pork along the grain into thin slices. Take each tortilla and spread 1 tbsp of the Spicy Brown Mustard, layer the ingredients on one side of the tortilla, pork, ham, pickle, onion, and cheese. Fold the tortilla over and press firmly and place into a heated non stick skillet, on med-low heat, if not a non stick make sure to spray the pan with pam and then the top of the tortilla so when you flip it its already greased.

Beef and Orange Stir-Fry

Beef and Orange Stir-Fry

3 oranges
2 garlic cloves,minced.
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 lbs trimmed boneless sirloin or rib-eye steak, cut into 1/2 in thick strips
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 to 2 tbsp canola oil
6 scallions, green parts only, cut into 1 inch lengths
white rice for serving

Into a small bowl, finely grate some of the orange into zest making sure not to get any of the white part, you should have a 1 tbsp and squeeze the juice from 1 orange. Add the garlic and soy sauce.
With a sharp paring knife, peel the remaining 2 oranges. Slice the oranges crosswise 1/2 inch thick, then halve the slices; push out and discard any seeds. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, toss meat with the cornstarch until coated. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Working in batches (adding more oil if needed) brown the beef on all sides, 3-5 minutes; transfer to plate.
Pour the juice mixture into the skillet and boil until syrupy, about 1 minute. Return the beef to the skillet; add the orange slices and scallions. Toss until coated and heated through. Serve ho, with white rice ( or brown if you prefer)