Mac and cheese

Macaroni and Cheese.  I know some people hear that and they just see a box of Kraft Mac and Cheese. When my family hears Mac and Cheese - they see a huge pan hot out of the oven.  That's right.  It may be made with the plainest of all the cheeses, but it makes the most decadent of all Mac and Cheese.

My mom and aunt found a recipe for Macaroni and Cheese years ago in a Betty Crocker Book.  If I remember correctly, the recipe had a number of steps, including layering the cheese sauce with the macaroni.  Instead, they decided that mixing the the sauce and the macaroni was sufficient.  And trust me, it really is sufficient.

So this is not a Mac and Cheese that you'll want to make for dinner.  This is a party mac and cheese and two lbs goes a LONG way (I mentioned in Monday Matters that we made it this weekend for a little Labor Day get together and it made so much that we sent everyone home with leftovers)....So here goes!

The Ingredients

2 lbs Cellentani or Cavatappi macaroni

1 stick butter

1/2 cup onions, finely chopped

1/2 cup flour

1/2 gallon milk (I usually use 2%)

2 teaspoons of salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

3 pounds Land o Lakes American Cheese, shredded (Yes - 3 lbs.  And it HAS to be Land o Lakes...We've tried it with other cheeses, and it just isn't the same)

For the topping:
3-4 Tbsp melted butter
1 sleeve ritz crackers, crushed

 

All of the shredded cheese - you can use either a box grater or the attachments on the food processor - and the ritz and macaroni

The Method

• Set a big pot of water to boil for the macaroni.  While the water is heating up, do the following:


• Melt the butter in a large pot and add in the onions to saute

• When the onion is softened, add in the flour and stir continuously.

• When the flour mixture starts to bubble, slowly stir in the milk, salt, and pepper

• Stir continuously on medium-high heat, and once the milk has warmed up a bit (it should be warm to the touch but not anywhere close to boiling), add in the shredded American Cheese


• Stir until creamy.  You shouldn't see any strings of cheese left in the mixture.  Lower the heat and continue stirring until the water has come to a boil, and the macaroni has been cooked until al dente (You need to stir the mixture the entire time, otherwise it will stick to the bottom of the pan.  Also, you do NOT want the macaroni cooked all the way here, because it needs to bake and it will be too mushy if overcooked).   When you're ready to strain the macaroni, just take the cheese mixture completely off the heat.

Add the drained macaroni to a baking pan (I use the throw-away foil pans) and pour the cheese mixture on top.  Mix everything together  (You can put the drained macaroni back in the pot, and add all of the cheese sauce there, and then transfer everything into the foil pan....Do whatever is easiest for you!!)

Top the Mac and Cheese with crushed ritz cracker crumbs (about 1 sleeve) that have been mixed with melted butter (about 3-4 Tablespoons)

Bake covered for 45 minutes at 375*.  Unover, then bake an additional 15 minutes until the crumb topping is golden brown.

Let the Mac and Cheese set for at least 15-30 minutes before serving.

A delicious serving of Macaroni and Cheese, just waiting to be eaten!!!

Note:  Assuming 20 servings (which is a VERY generous portion):

Per Serving:  500Calories * 44 Carbs * 28 Fat * 21 Protein * 2 Fiber * 1133 Sodium

 

ENJOY!!!

Now that's what I call a cookout!!!

Monday Matters

1. My current music playlist on Grove Shark is ridiculous.  Yep....Ridiculous.  Here's a short list, including but not limited to...I mean, honestly....How do these songs even relate to each other??  THEY DON'T!!!  I guess that's what makes it so much fun!


1. 50 Ways to Say Goodbye - Train
2. One Thing - One Direction
3. Sugar We're Going Down - Fall Out Boy
4. Everybody Talks - Neon Trees
5. Pound the Alarm - Nicki Minaj
6. Hello - Karmin
7. How I Could Just Kill a Man - Rage Against the Machine
8. Magic - B.o.B Feat Rivers Cuomo
9. Sabotage - The Beastie Boys
10. We Found Love - Rihanna
11. Fat Bottomed Girls - Queen
12. Hold it Against Me - Britney Spears
13. Turn All the Lights On - T-Pain & Ne-Yo
14. Misery Business - Paramore
15. Life is a Highway - Rascal Flats
16. Sellout - Reel Big Fish


2. While listening to said music, I found out that listening to RBF at my desk makes me want to get up and skank.  Just sayin'..... What is skanking, you ask?  Ch-ch-ch-check it out!!  (It's a horrible quality video, but skip to about 20 seconds in....)


3. My mom is an art teacher in Providence and they have a new rule about how teachers have to administer the kids breakfast (and she has to do for classes that are first thing in the morning).  She brings home all the extra apples so I got to bake this weekend!!!!  Here's a little preview....But I'll post a full recipe (and a cooked picture) later this week!



4. Somehow, I was able to eat the serving size of Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and Stacy's Whole Grain Pita Chips on Friday.  Seriously, do you know how hard it is to only eat 9 of those pita chips???



5. I have continued with my workouts and have decided to try a few personal training sessions with a trainer at work.  I was talking to my favorite instructor (Beth) who teaches the Tae Bo classes and she said that some weight work will help with weight loss.  I can see a noticeable difference in my body and how my clothes fit, but I have not seen a single pound drop off, and it's annoying me.  So I'm trying something new!!


6. I've decided it's necessary for me to learn the Thriller Dance.  And Beat It.  I'll keep you updated on that one, lol


7. I went to both TJ Maxx and Marshalls on Saturday on a quest to buy some new work out clothes.  I was not happy to find that neither store had any nice clothes over a size Medium.  Any pants were full length (and I prefer capri) and there were no nice tops.  How annoying is that???


8. With it being Labor Day this weekend, I decided very last minute to have a cookout.  We made said Apple Crisp (see bullet point 3) as well as Macaroni and Cheese, since I bought all of the ingredients to bring it to a friend's house, and then didn't make it (I suck).  Keep a look-out for the recipe for Mac and Cheese this week.  Here's a preview!

Siena East Greenwich

So Friday, Scott and I drove into work together.  On the way home, we stopped by the house to see any progress in the painting and then we decided to go out to dinner.  My first thought was Cassarino's on Federal Hill in Providence....However, we have a gift certificate there and it was in Cranston....So that was a no-go.  Then we decided on Siena....But instead of going to the location on Federal Hill like we usually do, we decided to go to the location in East Greenwich.  Well, we were pleasantly surprised!!

The menu is very different, and they have an amazing appetizer choice - The Cheese Board!!!  You can get one of the three cheese board combinations that they put together, or you can do a "make your own" by choosing between some meat selections, olives, and cheeses.

Dinner was also amazing!!

If you have the chance to go there, I highly recommend it!!

Here's what we chose!

Soprasada, Castelvetrani olives, and Burrata (amazingly fresh mozzarella cheese).  The board also comes with crustini, fig jam, and candied nuts.  AMAZING!!!

Scott's dinner - Schiaffoni del Calzolaio - large tubes of pasta with ground sausage in a San Marzano tomato sauce

My Dinner - Cavatappi con Pollo - corkscrew pasta with chicken, spinach and roasted red peppers in a lemon-garlic sauce

Rigatoni with Sausage and Kale

As we all know, I have tried my fair share of Weight Watcher recipes. My last dish didn't go so well....however, my friend Michelle (and faithful Quahog Tales follower) gave me a recipe today and per her suggestion I made it for dinner.

The Recipe:
2 cups uncooked rigatoni
8 oz uncooked turkey sausage, sweet italian variety
4 cups uncooked kale, roughly chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 cup chicken broth
Black pepper
Salt
1/2 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese (I didn't have this, so I just used grated cheese)

The Method:
Cook rigatoni in salted water according to package directions.

Meanwhile, remove sausage from casing and cook in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, breaking up the sausage as it cooks.  Add the kale, stirring frequently, until the kale is limp and wilted (about 3-5 minutes)

Add the broth and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the skillet.  Season with salt and pepper (I went easy on the salt since I knew I was putting the cheese on top).  Reduce heat, cover and cooke for about 5-10 minutes, until kale is tender.  Stir in cooked and drained rigatoni.

Divide into four servings and sprinkle each serving with about 2 tbsp of cheese.

The Verdict:
My husband had two full servings. Enough said!!!

Points Plus per serving: 8

Rigitoni with Sausage and Kale (don't forget to add some cheese on top!!!)

10 for $10

After a delicious breakfast at T's this morning (in order to cure my hangover - I seriously can't drink like I used to...), Scott and I went to the supermarket.  My goal was to get some more meats for dinner for the week, as well as some other necessities. 

As we walked into the aisle with all the macaroni, I saw that Prince was having a sale, 10 boxes for $10.  Normally, I don't buy Prince.  For some reason, I have a thing for Barilla, and usually keep to their brands but I'm not a person to ignore a sale.  As we were picking out some different types to buy, I noticed that a number of the boxes of macaroni weren't even a full pound!  They were only 12 ounces, yet they were still in the 10 for $10 category!

What has the world come to that we can't actually sell a full pound of macaroni, and resort to jipping the American Consumer 4 ounces?  If they're going to only give us 3/4 of a pound, then I deserve to pay only 75 cents rather than the full dollar!  Am I wrong??

 

Ahh, my rant for the day.  Before I close out this topic altogether, it's important for me to mention that only 1 out of the 7 pounds of macaroni that we bought were actually 12 ounces - everything else was the full pound.

In other news, I have formulated half a plan for dinner this week.  I had bought some peppers last week at the supermarket, but didn't use them for anything so we picked up some sausage today and have sausage and peppers cooking away in the Crock Pot as I type.  For the rest of the week, I'm thinking of making something with chicken (I bought some mushrooms, I'm thinking of making chicken marsala), as well as Spicy Turkey Burgers (I have this amazing recipe for turkey burgers with Dill and Hot Sauce - it's so delicious).  I also have some ground beef and steaks in the freezer, so I think I'm sure I'll use at least one of those for another mid-week meal.  I think I learned a lot last week in terms of cooking dinner.  Here are a few of the important things I'll be keeping in mind:

• It's really important to know what you're going to make before you defrost anything.  If not, you may be stuck with chicken but with nothing to fix it with.
• The vegetables are key - they really help embellish a dish as well as add flavor
• Buying a small bag of mini-potatoes is unnecessary.  A regular 5-lb bag of all purpose potatoes will do you fine.
• As long as you know what you're going to make, and you have everything you need, dinner will only take minutes to put together.

Over the past couple years, I haven't cooked that much dinner.  But it's really easy!  I'm excited for what this week will bring.

25 Random Facts

Here are a number of facts about me, the first two (which I won't count to the 25) are that I stole this idea from that "25 Random Facts" of Facebook that went Viral in 2008/2009.  I'm going to try to state a number of things that I didn't say back then!

1. I have to go to Rochester on September 19-22 for Work.  I've never been to Rochester before.
2. I love baking.  I'm sure you've seen this from previous blog entries.
3. I'm not a fan of cleaning, but I can't stand my house to be dirty.  It always seems to be messy.....
4. My husband and I have gotten into bike riding.  I love it and wish I did it more often.
5. I live in a condo, and can't wait to move out.
6. I want to build a house on at least 1+ acres in Barrington.  I hope I'm able to do that one day.
7. I have a love-hate relationship with caffeine.  To little = headache, too much = headache.
8. I don't understand the fascination with the word "pasta."  Growing up, it was either macaroni or spaghetti.  Pasta was just if you made it by hand....
9. I watched "Inglourious Basterds" the other day for the first time.  I loved it, and will definitely watch it again.
10. I love all movies made by Mel Brooks.
11. I tore my PCL 5 months before my wedding (on Christmas Eve).  It still hurts when I try to run.
12. My sister is getting married in June and I am the MOH.  Techinically I'm the "Matron" of Honor.  I hate the word Matron...It sounds so old.
13. I am newly obsessed with the 2004 Movie "The Phantom of the Opera."  I saw it at PPAC in Middle School, and it scared the crap out of me.  I have a new found love for the music.
14. I love dirty Martinis.  With 3 olives. 
15. I went to the ENT because I've been having a lot of issues with my ears.  Apparently I have arthritis in my jaw and it affects my ears.  I can't eat bagels or chew gum.
16. I don't like being taken advantage of, and I don't like being lied to.  
17. Hockey is my favorite sport.  Football is my second favorite.
18. I am transitioning into a new job.  I will soon be an individual contributor again.  I can't wait.
19. I get frustrated very easily.  I need to remember to take more big breaths.
20. We had a huge hurricane (Hurricane Irene) over the weekend that a lot of people didn't take seriously.  They actually reclassified it to a "Tropical Storm" but there are still areas that don't have power.
21. It should usually take me 45 minutes to drive to work.  Lately it's been taking almost an hour because of construction on Rte 44.  They're supposed to be doing this construction until Spring 2012.  JOY.
22. I have been trying to lose weight.  I have thus far lost 14 lbs on Weight Watchers.  I need to exercise more in order to boost the weight loss.  I get distracted easily.
23. I have more cookbooks than I know what to do with.  I hardly use any of them.
24. I have a facebook account, but I'm very upset with the new privacy settings.  You can now tag people in your posts and pictures, even if they're not your friends.  That doesn't seem very private to me!
25. I love Mexican Food.  And I love drinking Margaritas and Sangria with my Mexican Food.