Mac & Cheese

Macaroni & Cheese

-by Lori

First things first, macaroni and cheese is not healthy. I usually attempt to make vegetarian fare with a healthy flair, but there’s no sugar-coating the reality here, there’s just covering it in cheese. Lots of cheese.

Out of the oven and bubbling deliciously

Based on the reviews, I decided to try out Ina Garten’s recipe. Her recipe called for cheddar and Gruyere cheeses, as well as fresh tomato and bread crumbs, which sounded a little fancier than the stuff one gets from a box. Of course, my local grocery store let me down again, however, and I was unable to find Gruyere, so I went with Swiss cheese instead. Don’t ask me why. I was at the store and I had to make a decision, so that was it.

Plated to eat

The recipe called for homemade breadcrumbs, but I went with some Panko breadcrumbs instead. It was just easier for me. I also used nonfat milk in an attempt to bring the calories down a bit. I don’t think it affected the overall taste, but not having a full-fat version to compare it to means that I don’t really know. I thought it was good anyway.

This is something I would consider making again, but I would cut the recipe in half. It’s a week later and I still have almost 2/3 of it left. For one person, it’s too much food.

 

 

Asian Salad

By Ashley

So as I write this I should let you know that it has been a long day.  I did not realized until about 4pm that it was in fact February 17th, not the 16th as I had figured while signing off on all my paperwork today.

The following recipe is from a friend.

Salad Dressing

Mix 1/8th cup sesame oil, 1/8 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar, 1/4 cup sugar, dash salt, 1/4 tsp pepper.

Salad

Chop about 2 cups red cabbage and 2 cups green cabbage.  Add one green onion, chopped.  Then add about 1/8th cup roasted sesame seeds and 1/2 cup of curly, crunchy asian noodles, and 1/4 cup toasted almonds.  Pour dressing over salad and mix thoroughly to distribute evenly.

This salad packs a huge load of antioxidants and delivers a healthy crunch.  In my opinion, the more toasted almonds you add the better.  It balances out nicely on the side of some sort of roast chicken dish but can easily be a meal in itself (just add more crunchy noodles and almonds).

Pics to come soon……

 

 

Stuffed Bell Peppers and Coconut Chicken with Pineapple/Mango Salsa

Coconut Chicken with Pineapple/Mango Salsa

- by Ashley

Recipe courtesy of Better Homes Cookbook

Take chicken breast that has been cut smaller cutlets about 3-4 inches long. Beat one egg with a whisk and add half a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper.  Dip the chicken pieces in the egg mixture, making sure the excess egg drips off when you lift it out of the mixture.   Roll the chicken cutlet in un-sweetened

Coconut chicken with Pineapple/Mango salsa

shredded coconut, covering it thoroughly.  Place the chicken cutlets on a well greased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes until fully cooked (indicated by firmness of chicken).  In the meantime, combine one cup of crushed pineapple (with as much juice drained off as possible) with one cup of diced mango, half a cup of cilantro, half a teaspoon of salt, two tablespoons of lime juice, and half a cup of cilantro.  Mix thoroughly and add more salt to taste if needed.  I found that adding more cilantro really gives it a sweet, unique taste.

When the chicken cutlets appear to be fully cooked (make sure they are firm and coconut starts to brown) remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes.  Arrange a few on a plate, enchillada style and drape a single row of pineapple/mango salsa across the rows.  Very simple recipe that has some pretty unique combination of spicy, sweet, and salty.  I can easily make it in about half an hour.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

- by Lori

Adding black beans to pan.

I went through an illness recently and wasn’t feeling very adventurous this week as a result. I wanted to stay in a flavor profile that I’m comfortable with. That being said, I winged it with this one and used no formal recipe.

Stuffed peppers are great because it’s they are very versatile. You can fill them with anything! I went with a southwestern approach, but I could have easily done something in the Italian family.

The finished filling.

I started out by cooking up 1/2 a cup of brown rice by following the instructions on the box. While that was going, I put together the other components of my filling: half of an onion, one clove of garlic, one can of black beans (drained and rinsed), one can of diced tomatoes (southwestern style with peppers), one can of tomato sauce, and one small can of corn. First, I sauteed the onion. When that was heated through, I added the garlic and other canned ingredients. I seasoned (to taste) with Cumin, Cayenne, Chili Powder, salt and pepper. Once the rice was cooked, it too was added to the pan.

While that was simmering, I prepped the peppers. I used green bell peppers for this recipe. I would prefer to use red or orange peppers, but the store selection was disappointing, so green it was. I cut off the tops and cleaned out all the seeds and bitter membrane bits. They make the perfect little cups to hold any sort of filling!

Once the filling was heated through, I filled the peppers. I ended up with a little extra filling (which I took for lunch the next day). I could have easily thrown it in a tortilla or added it to a salad, but I found it was yummy enough to eat on its own. The peppers were topped with Monterey Jack cheese, covered with aluminum foil and baked at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes. For the last few minutes, I removed the foil and turned the oven up to broil to crisp up the cheese.

Peppers before cooking.

Stuffed Bell Pepper

Tags: cooking, peppers, pinapple

Vegetable Soups

This week, Ashley and Lori tackle vegetable soups. Lori combines warm Indian spices with hearty butternut squash for a tasty and filling vegetarian stew. Ashley gets mashing with potatoes and leeks to create a warm, satisfying winter soup staple.

Tags: cooking, potato, soups, squash

Kick-off: Quiches

So this week we have decided to make quiches. Quiche is essentially four main ingredients: pie crust, eggs, cream, and
cheese.

Tags: cooking, lorraine, mini, onion, quiche