Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

This is Rachel Ray's Mac and Cheddar Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli but without the chicken or broccoli or cayenne pepper (I eat broccoli with it, just raw).  It's so much better than the boxed stuff and it's a quick recipe.


2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
Salt and pepper
1 small onion, chopped
1 pound macaroni elbows or cavatapi corkscrew shaped pasta twists
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour (whole wheat flour works fine in rouxs!)
1 teaspoon paprika
3 cups whole milk
1 cup chicken stock
3 cups yellow sharp Cheddar (or any other cheese you like!)
1 tablespoon prepared Dijon mustard

Place a pot of water on to boil for macaroni.  Cook pasta according to package directions.

While pasta cooks, heat a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and butter.  Let the butter melt then add onion and cook 5 to 7 minutes until onions are tender.  Once onions are tender, add flour and paprika and whisk together over heat until roux bubbles then cook a minute more. Whisk in milk and stock and raise heat a little to bring sauce to a quick boil. Simmer sauce to thicken about 5 minutes.

Add cheese to milk sauce and stir to melt it in, about a minute or so. Stir in mustard and season sauce with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over cooked pasta and stir to combine.

Serves 4-6 servings

December Dinners

Note: Until I make the meal I'm going to link to the site where I got the recipe/idea from. I'll post my version and/or comments after I've made the meal.

Red Beans and Rice

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Crockpot Albondigas (Meatball) Soup

Hamburgers

Crockpot Grape Chicken

Jambalaya

Salmon with Spinach & Cream Cheese (I'm probably going to continue to make this once a month)

Christmas Dinner: To Be Decided

Crockpot Coconut Pork

This was ok, but I thought that the spices need to be increased a bit, since I didn't use the red pepper flakes from the original . I add more curry, coriander, and cumin when I ate the leftovers. This is from A Year of Slow Cooking's Coconut Beef recipe. I change it from beef to pork and didn't add any brown sugar and some of the spices.

--1.5-2 lbs pork loin, sliced 1 inch thick rounds
--1 yellow onion, chopped
--1 can coconut milk
--1 juice from one lime
--2 cloves chopped garlic
--1 tsp curry powder
--1/2 tsp ground coriander
--1 tsp cumin
--1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated

Put onion in the crockpot and add pork on top. Add spices and coconut milk. Cook for 8-10 hours on low or 6-8 hours on high.

Serves 6-8.

Crockpot Pork in Tomato Sauce

We thought that this was a great different way to make pork. It's a very simple recipe.

1 pork loin, 2.5-3 lbs.

4 cups tomato sauce

1/2 cup red wine

pepper

1 tbsp garlic

at least 1/2 tbsp each coriander, marjoram, thyme, sage

Place pork in crockpot. Rub with spices. Pour tomato sauce and wine over pork. Cook on low for 8-9 hours or on high for 6-7.

Serves 4-6.

Crockpot Indian Lamb Curry

I modified and double the sauce for A Year of Slow Cooking's Indian Curry Recipe. It was great and I had curry without it being too hot. I don't go out for Indian food because it's too hot for me usually.

- 2 13.5 oz cans of coconut milk
- 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- 1.5 lbs of lamb shank
- 2 T tomato paste
- 4 T curry powder
- 2 t ground coriander
- 2 t ground cumin
- 2 inch peeled and grated ginger
- 1 yellow onion. chopped
- 3 or 4 cloves of smashed and chopped garlic
- 1/2 of an eggplant, chopped (doesn't need to be peeled
- 1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped

Mix all of your spices, coconut milk, and tomato paste in the bottom of your crockpot. Place the lamb in the crockpot. Pour in the garbanzo beans. Add the vegetables on top of the lamb.

Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours, or on high for 4-6.

Serves 6-8

Swordfish in Herbed Butter Sauce

We liked this and it added a bit of flavor to the swordfish without overpowering it. It's also very easy for the nights you don't have much time to cook.

4 swordfish steaks

1/2 cup butter, plus 4 pats

Salt

Pepper

Mint

Dill

Marjoram

Coriander

Oregano

Sage

1/2 small lime or lemon.

Preheat oven to 425. Coat baking pan with olive oil. Place at least 1/2 tsp of each spice on the steaks (I just use my hand to measure). Place a pat of butter on each steak. Cook in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until cooked through. When there is less than 10 minute left on cooking the steaks, take a saucepan and melt the remaining butter. Add the same spices in at least the same amount as you placed on the steak. Add lime or lemon. Remove from heat. Serve the sauce over the steaks.

Serves 4

Crockpot Pomegranate Beef

I made this for a dinner party and everyone really liked it. The cranberries and pomegranate make it very fall appropriate. It's a tart instead of sweet version of fruit and meat, which I'm a big fan of.

I'm linking to the recipe on Gluten-free Goddess. My only changes were doubling the recipe, using a much cheaper, pot roast type cut of meat like chuck roast, and cooking for 10 hours on low since I didn't cut the meat into serving pieces or brown it. If I made it again, I'd probably half the amount of balsamic vinegar used.