Macaroni and Cheese

This macaroni and cheese recipe is a family favorite that I can make with my eyes closed. It is the same way my Mom used to make it when I was a kid. There were never leftovers then - and usually there aren't now either!  In the photo I used penne noodles only because we were out of macaroni that day - LOL - looks a little silly but tastes the same!

Macaroni & Cheese

Source: family recipe

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 Min
Cook Time: 30 Min
Total Time: 45 Min

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 16 oz Elbow Macaroni
• 8 oz Extra Sharp White Cheddar Cheese, grated
• 1 cup Organic Lowfat (1%) Milk
• 2 tbsp Butter - Unsalted -
• 2 tbsp All-Purpose Flour 
• 1 tsp Salt

Directions

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. cook macaroni according to package directions
3. melt butter in small saucepan
4. add flour and salt to create a paste
5. add milk slowly to create cream sauce
6. add cheese, stir until melted.
7. Drain macaroni, pour into greased 13x9 baking pan
8. Stir in cheese sauce, mix thoroughly
9. Bake for 30 minutes (covered to keep it creamy, or uncovered if you like it crunchy on top)

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 linking up with Cate's Blog Every Day in May.

How To Make a Meal They Will ALL Eat!

1. Start out with a complicated Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole recipe that doesn't quite please your family.

2. On the second try, ditch the Uncle Ben's wild rice with the overwhelming flavor packets and too much salt in favor of plain brown rice. Much better!

3. On the third try, change the milk to heavy cream and the Dry Sherry to Marsala wine. Definitely improved the flavor and made the casserole much more creamy. Also realize that the instructions calling for layering the ingredients in a pan are just stupid and mix it all together in a bowl then dump in the pan. So much easier! Cut about 10 minutes out of the prep time and it cooks better.

4. On the fourth try, add peas. Ask yourself why this recipe didn't have peas in it to begin with? Seriously, what was the author thinking?

5. Remember to take a picture after you have already started serving dinner.

 6. End up with a custom secret family recipe that everyone loves and that you can share with your blog friends! (P.S. This makes awesome leftovers). And in this version I added an extra can of mushrooms. Just cause I was in the mood! 

Chicken & Rice Casserole

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 Min
Cook Time: 45 Min
Total Time: 1 Hr

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 2 cans Campbell's Cream of Chicken & Mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup Marsala cooking wine
• 1/2 cup Vegetable or Chicken stock
• 2 cups brown rice
• 1 package Birds Eye peas w/garlic & mushrooms
• 5 pieces Chicken Breast cut into small pieces
• 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Cut chicken breasts into bite size chunks


2. Add all ingredients EXCEPT cheese into a bowl and mix thoroughly


3. Pour into greased 13x9 pan


4. Bake covered at 350 for 30 minutes


5. Remove cover and sprinkle cheese on top


6. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted.

linking up with Cate's Blog Every Day in May
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What's For Dinner?

I know it seems innocuous enough. But it is a loaded  question. And no matter what my answer is, it will inevitably be followed by a groan of disapproval from at least one of my darling offspring. The question was also one that used to fill me with dread because I often didn't know the answer! For years I had a list of "go to" meals that I would consult when dinner time rolled around. Or I'd stick my head in the fridge just searching for inspiration. Back in 2011, I KNEW I needed to start meal planning. I tried, but it didn't stick and the question of "What's for dinner?" continued to strike terror in my heart.

Until I discovered Plan To Eat.  I can't even remember how I found the website, but I'll make it easy for you. The link below the video leads directly to their free 30 day trial sign up.  Or you can click the Plan To Eat icon on the right bar of my blog post and if you sign up, I'll get credit for referring you. After the free trial, it is $4.95 a month or $39.00 a year (that's only 75 cents a week for a wonderful time saving device!).



Plan to Eat

Plan to Eat allows you to choose recipes and drag them onto a calendar to plan meals for a day, week, month... then it takes all the ingredients of those recipes and exports them into a shopping list. You can remove items from the list that you already have in stock (salt, pepper, pasta) and you can add items that aren't part of a specific recipe but that you need on hand each week (milk, bread, bananas) and then print the grocery list to take along to the store - keeps you from forgetting the odd ingredient for a planned meal! And for those of you far more tech savvy than me, yes there is an APP for that!

A few other nifty features:

• With a button on your browser bar, you can add recipes from anywhere on the web. Or you can manually input your own family recipes
• PlanToEat tells you how many times you've added a particular recipe to your planner. 
• You can print the recipes. I see the basis for a recipe album here!
• You can export your recipes for sharing (see below!)

Chicken Scallopini with Capers

Source: blog.myfitnesspal.com

Course: Main Course

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon drained capers
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 3 tablespoons whole wheat flour
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons cold water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cold butter cut in small pieces
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine the wine or broth, broth, capers and set aside.


2. Season the chicken with the salt, pepper, and sage. Lightly coat with the flour, patting off the excess.


3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat and add olive oil. Add chicken and cook until browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and turn the chicken. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear, about 2 minutes. Remove to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm.


4. In a small cup, combine the cornstarch and water.


5. Pour the caper mixture into the skillet and heat over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Cook, whisking until thickened, about 15 seconds. Whisk in the butter and spoon the sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle with the parsley (if using).


6. NOTE: You can make this dish in bulk then freeze and reheat. To reheat, arrange the scallopini in a baking dish, cover, and bake at 350°F until heated through, about 15 minutes. Drizzle with a little olive oil to replace lost moisture.

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I used the 30 day free trial to add my own family recipes. If you add just one or two recipes a day, you'll have quite the cookbook by the time you are done the free trial! I now consult Plan to Eat each Sunday, choose my meals for the week, and print my grocery list before I go grocery shopping. It has made life so much easier! I'm cooking at home more and making healthier meals. And the question of "What's for dinner?" no longer worries me.

Because You Asked...

I always aim to please and because so many of you asked so nicely...

Here's the secret recipe for Rachel's Peanut Butter Blossom cookies (with apologies in  advance to my overseas friends - sorry I don't know how to do the conversions!).  And to be quite honest, the recipe isn't all that secret.  It was sourced here. (You can go to the link and easily print the recipe from there!)

Ingredients

• 48 HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Milk Chocolates
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup REESE'S Creamy Peanut Butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Granulated sugar

Directions

1. 1 Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates.
   
2. 2 Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and                      brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt;              gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.
   
3. 3 Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.
   
4. 4 Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each
   cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.
   About 4 dozen cookies.
   
   Nutritional Information per serving (1 cookie):
   Calories: 90, Total Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 5mg, Sodium: 75mg,
   Total Carbohydrate: 10g, Dietary Fiber: less than 1g, Sugars: 6g, Protein: 2g

Let's Eat Blog Hop

Welcome to Let's Eat Blog Hop! If you arrived here from Random Reflections, home of the very talented Karen, welcome! It was a fairly short hop from upstate New York to southeastern Pennsylvania, so you should be read to dive right in!  If you are starting here, no worries, you can follow the entire hop by clicking on the link at the end of this post.

Quick & Easy Chicken Pasta Salad - approx. 8 servings

Feeding finicky youngsters is a tricky proposition. Feeding finicky teens is impossible. If I serve a meal they don't like, they simply won't eat it. But this is one meal they actually enjoy! It's a cold one-dish meal, great for summertime. Only six ingredients! Easy to whip up for potlucks and backyard barbeques! This recipe is also very forgiving in that there are no exact measurements and you can add more or less of any of the ingredients to change the amount of servings you create!

Ingredients to serve 8:

• 1 pkg Farfalle (bowtie) Pasta - 12 oz.
• 1 pkg Perdue Short Cuts Original Roasted Chicken (or 2 chicken breasts baked)
• 1 large tomato
• 1 large or 2 small cucumbers
• 1 pkg Cracker Barrel extra-sharp white reduced fat Cheddar Cheese - use approx 6 oz. (feel free to substitute here - the salad would be great with feta, gorgonzola, or blue cheese crumbles if you like something with a little more zing)
• 1 bottle Hidden Valley Original Ranch Dressing - 8 oz.
• Optional - sliced black olives, any other veggies you want to add

Instructions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
2. Cube chicken, tomatoes, cucumbers, and cheese into small pieces.
3. Combine all ingredients into serving dish. Add any optional ingredients to suit.
4. Slowly add ranch dressing, stirring until all ingredients are lightly coated.
5. You can season to taste if desired, but we find the ranch dressing to be more than sufficient seasoning!
6. Refrigerate and serve cold.

I input this recipe into My Fitness Pal and came up with this nutrition info per serving:  Calories - 411; Carbs - 36 g.;  Fat - 20 g.;  Protein - 19 g.;  Fiber - 2 g.   You can make it lower cal by using a low-fat ranch dressing if you prefer.

Now off you go to the UK to visit Jacky and see what she has cooked up for us! It's a longer hop, so you might want to grab some Chicken Pasta Salad for the trip!