Smokey Cheddar Mac N Cheese

One day, after a chilly afternoon at the barn, I had a craving for rich home made macaroni and cheese.  I hit up my favorite food blog, Iowa Girl Eats, to see what inspiration I could find.  I love this blog because the writing style is so cute and the recipes are always delicious.  With beautiful pictures, and step by step instuctions, this blog will make anyone feel like they can cook!

I chose her recipe called Not Your Mother's Mac & Cheese, but as usual, I made some changes to make it my own.

This is a rich, baked version of mac n cheese that totally hit the spot.  The leftovers were amazing too!



Smokey Cheddar Mac N Cheese with Asparagus

 

 

Start by making a crunchy topping:

• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 - 1 tsp dried parsley

Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat.  Add the bread crumbs and stir continuously while browning the bread crumbs.  This happened much more quickly than I thought it would, and I actually burned my first attempt. As the bread crumbs start to toast, stir in the parsley, then remove from the heat.  I would say err on the side of removing "too soon" rather than anywhere near burning.  I put too soon in quotes because the bread crumbs are already pretty crunchy, so you really don't need to toast them much at all.  Set aside the topping for later.

Then work on the pasta and sauce:

• 1 box rotini (I use the kind that gives a serving of vegetables within the noodles)
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 3 Tbsp flour
• 1 and 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 and 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 lb co-jack cheese, shredded
• 4-5 ounces smoked cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes, drained

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Boil salted water in a large pot and cook pasta until it starts to soften, about 5 minutes. Drain the pasta and leave it in the strainer. Using the same pot you made the pasta in, melt the butter over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add flour while whisking for 1 more minute.  Slowly add milk and chicken broth while whisking.  Make sure each addition is well incorporated before adding more liquid. Continue to stir constantly and cook for 10 minutes while the mixture thickens. Remove from heat.

Add cheeses and stir until melted and combined.  It is best to buy blocks of cheese and shred it yourself, because it will melt better than the "preshredded" kind, which I think has some kind of coating to keep it from clumping in the bag, which also makes melt kind of unevenly.  I think my best change to this recipe was the use of smoked cheddar rather than sharp cheddar.  That smoked flavor was addictive and made us keep going back for more.  I think it is what made the left overs so appetizing too.  Sometimes a unique flavor like that really improves a dish.

Next add the pasta into the cheese sauce and stir to coat.  Stir in the tomatoes.  In my usual style, I was looking for a way to add some veggies and make this a more complete meal.  I chose to add the tomatoes, which worked out well.  They added a little freshness (even though they were canned) and a little brightness to the otherwise heavy dish.  I think broccoli could also work really well here. Pour the whole shebang into a greased 8"x8" glass baking dish.  Cover the top of the pasta with the crunchy topping you made earlier. 

Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until top and sides are just turning golden brown.

 

 

I served it with sauteed asparagus for a little more fresh flavor to balance the heaviness of all the cheese.  It was a completely satifying meal, and the left overs were just as good as the first time.  I highly recommend using smoked cheddar as one of the cheeses.  Just thinking about that fantastic flavor has me wondering how soon I can get away with making this again!

 

 



 



Veggieful Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Ok, so I know it's been a ridiculously long time since I last posted, but what can I say?  I guess I'm not really in the habit of blogging so posting still takes a long time and it never feels like I have enough to say or enough photos to post.  Well, if I want to do this, I have to start somewhere.  My little blog will probably never look or read like the blogs that I love, but at least I can use it to remember important moments, and especially important recipes! 

And recipes are what I'm coming back to share!  I have recently made a couple of things that were totally blog-worthy, even if I don't have great pictures to accompany them.

The first recipe I'm going to share is for chicken and wild rice soup.  I am usually not a big fan of soups, but John loves them, so I occasionally attempt to make them.  The only kinds of soup that I do like are creamy, rich soups or very hearty stews. 

This Tuesday John sweetly used one of his days off on a day that I also am off.  We ran some errands and then made a stop at Erbert and Gerbert's for lunch.  It had been years since I'd had Erb's and Gerb's and we both had things we were excited to order.  I was craving beer-cheese soup and John really wanted chicken and wild rice soup.  Unfortunately for us, neither of those soups were on the menu that day.  I thought to myself...I bet it would make John really happy to get to eat home made chicken and wild rice soup...and it's a soup that I even like.

I searched my go-to recipe site, allrecipes.com, and found a recipe that I felt I could adapt to make a veggie-filled version of chicken and wild rice soup.  This soup turned out so wonderfully!  If you have ever enjoyed a bowl of rich, creamy chicken and wild rice soup, you've got to make this simple yet delicious soup!

The finished product in the big soup pot

Soup pot ingredients:

• ~1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup chopped carrots
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup chopped mushrooms
• 2 cloves garlic (I use the refrigerated pre-chopped kind)
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 - 1.5 lbs cooked shredded chicken breast
• 6 oz box quick cooking long grain and wild rice with seasoning packet

Place olive oil in large soup pot. Saute carrots and celery for a couple minutes.  Add onions and continue to cook a couple more minutes.  Add mushrooms and cook until onions are translucent and mushrooms start to brown. Add garlic and cook just long enough to get the flavor to come out, being careful not to burn. I always like to have a wet ingredient ready when I'm using this type of garlic because it seems like it burns easily.  Have the chicken broth handy and add it when the garlic is done toasting.  Then add the water. Add the shredded or cubed chicken. Bring this pot to a boil.

Just as the broth begins to boil, add the long grain and wild rice.  Keep the seasoning packet aside - we will use it in the other pot to make the creamy sauce. After adding the rice, cover and remove from heat.

Small bowl ingredients:

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Combine these 3 ingredients in a small bowl and keep next to the stove with a large tablespoon inside for combining it slowly into the sauce.

Medium Sauce Pan ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• seasoning packet from wild rice
• 2 cups 1% milk

Melt butter over medium heat.  Add seasoning packet and stir until bubbly. This should happen pretty quickly...be careful not to burn the butter.  Reduce the heat to low.  Start adding the flour mixture by tablespoons, mixing very well with each addition.  The mixture will get very thick, even chunky. I was worried at this point that my sauce would be lumpy, but it was fine.  Slowly add the milk while whisking.  Be sure the milk is well incorporated into the sauce after each addition. You will end up with a creamy sauce. Cook the sauce over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  The sauce will thicken somewhat. 

Add the creamy sauce to the large soup pot with the broth, veggies, chicken, and rice.  Cook over medium/low heat for 15 minutes.

Enjoy your restaurant quality soup!  John said it was good enough to sell. :-)



Delicious Veggieful Chicken and Wild Rice Soup



My recipe is quite a bit different from the inspiration recipe. I added all of the veggies (which is why I called it veggieful!) to make it healthier and add flavor. I also used 1% milk instead of heavy cream. The sauce was plenty rich and creamy this way, and it decreases the fat and calories. I also used a larger packet of rice than the original recipe called for. I was a little worried that there wouldn't be enough liquid, but it was just fine.  I'm finding that I really enjoy modifying recipes to fit our tastes and squeeze in more veggies wherever I can.

I am really proud of how this turned out! It makes me feel so good to know that I've made one of my husband's favorite foods, and that it was healthier than what he would have gotten at the restaurant.

Seriously, you have got to make this soup!