Different Kind of Mac & Cheese

As a Southern gal I love me some serious mac & cheese and usually make Mrs. Paula Deen's recipe because well, it's the best. I decided to switch things up tonight and make something a little different since it's Valentine's Day, the boyfriend is out of town and no one can judge me for eating only mac & cheese for dinner. jk

This recipe is a little different than most because it has you cook the pasta IN the milk instead of make the pasta in water then adding the milk once it's drained. It makes it over the top creamy. I tweeked the recipe a little and added garlic, used 1/2 chedder and 1/2 white chedder and added a little butter because...

With that said, I hope y'all enjoy it...


Different Kind of Mac & Cheese
Source: Cate’s World Kitchen adapted from White on Rice

Ingredients:
2 cups dried pasta (I used a fun twisty kind)
2 cups 2% or skim milk
1/2 cup of shredded chedder
1/2 cup of shredded white chedder
1 tsp of crushed garlic (optional)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dijon mustard


Directions:
In a small saucepan, add pasta and milk. Bring to simmer, then reduce heat to low and cook for 20 minutes, until pasta is soft, stirring frequently and ensuring milk does not boil.

Turn heat off, add cheese & salt & and stir to combine. Stir in the mustard a little at a time to taste.

milk will evaporate and start to thicken

Cover and let stand for about 5 minutes, then stir again and serve. If not creamy enough, add milk a little at a time, and gently stir.

*Also I have some extra broccoli  & jalapeno left in the fridge that I might add as I eat it for lunch to give the mac & cheese a little more zing and amp upthe  flavor. Also, I read on the blog I got this from that you can add in a bit of cream cheese or yogurt to help with the creaminess.

Chicken Bacon Wild Rice Soup

It's a chilly night here in Minnesota and nothing sounded more amazing tonight than a yummy thick warm soup. What better way to find a great recipe than on the one and only Pinterest. If you're not among the gazillions (real #) that are a part of this new amazing pin board site then you must join asap! If you need an invite feel free to comment under this post with your email and I will send one :) It sometimes takes long if you request one on your own.

Ok so back to the soup... This one looked beyond delicious so I looked it up on another blog called Pinchofyum.com. I didn't have all of the ingrediants at my home so I improvised and I think I did a great job! It's still simmering on my stove top but I've been tasting as I go and I will say I'm pretty stoked to try it in a little bit.

I didn't take a ton of step by step photos because at first I wasn't going to blog it (in case it didn't turn out) but as I was cooking and smelling I pulled out my camera.

I'm posting the original recipe with  my changes in ( ) next to it.

Chicken Bacon Wild Rice Soup

Author: Pinch of Yum, from Cambridge Medical Center cookbook

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 1 hour

Total time: 1 hour 30 mins

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 3 (10 3/4 oz) cans condensed chicken broth (I just used regular chicken broath & added 1/2 can of Cream of Chicken soup)
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup uncooked wild rice, rinsed (I forgot to rinse & after soup cooked for an hour I added some brown rice I made last week for something and needed to use)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
• 1/2 cup margarine or butter
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning (didn't have any so I used: cumin, ground oregano, tumeric, paprika, Mrs. Dash original)
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups half and half
• 1 1/2 cup cubed or shredded cooked chicken or turkey
• 8 slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled
• 1 tablespoon chopped pimiento (our grocery store didn't have this)
• 2-3 tablespoons dry sherry, if desired (did not use)

Instructions

In a large saucepan, combine chicken broth and water. Add wild rice and onions. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 30-45 minutes or until rice is tender (Mine took about 25 mins because it took awhile to go from boil to simmer). Once the rice is cooked, there will be some additional broth – do not drain.

fogged up my lens a little but it smells amazing!

In a medium saucepan, melt margarine, stir in flour, salt, seasoning, and pepper. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly, until smooth and bubbly. (mine was THICK and I mean thick so I wasn't sure if it was correct...hence the no picture. OH and I also used the pan I fried the bacon in so it soaked up all of the bacon crumbles at the bottom).

Gradually stir in half and half with the butter/flour mixture and cook until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. (it was really lumpy so I used a whisk and stirred it on low and it loosened up find.) 

Add this creamy mixture back into the saucepan with the rice/broth. Add chicken, bacon, pimiento, and sherry (didn't use pimiento & sherry). Heat on low, stirring every once in a while, for at least a half an hour. Do not boil. The mixture will look thin, but the longer you heat the soup, the more the flavors merry and the more it will thicken. This soup is best served after gently heating for an extended period of time (even a few hours) or the next day! For extra flavor, add more poultry seasoning and/or bacon.

Just because a pile of bacon is always a gorgeous sight.

what it looks like an hour in the pot.

Happy Birthday Charlie Parker: Peanut Butter Carrot Pupcakes

peanut butter & carrot pupcakes

Yield: 30 mini pupcakes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 4025 minutes

I promise you! Your pups will scarf these up and love them to pieces!!

What you need:

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup vegetable oil (I added a little drop or two at the end after everthing was mixed)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup honey
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 heaping cup shredded carrots

Cream Cheese Frosting:
12 ounces cream cheese, softened (I put it in the microwave for about 10 seconds)
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons honey
shredded carrots, for topping

Directions:

Pupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line standard muffin tins with cupcake liners and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the peanut butter, vegetable oil, vanilla, honey, and eggs. beat together with a whisk until smooth.

Fold in the baking sofa and flour into the mixture with a spatcula (it says to sift the two into the mixture but I didn't) is dissolved and the mixture just comes together. It will look really thick, wet and a little sticky & that's okay! (this is when I added a tiny bit of extra oil)

Once you have everthing mixed fold in the shredded carrots until they are dispersed evently throughout the mixture.

I pinched about the size of a small ice cream scoop off and rolled them into balls before I put them into the cupcake pan.

Bake for 15 minutes at 350.
**If you are using a standard muffin/cupcake pan you you bake for 35-40 mins

Remove pan from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes. Place aside on a wire cooling rack if you have one and if not just place them aside on plate (that's what I did)

Store in an airtight container in the fridge and they will last for up to a week.You may also want to freeze these to be able to keep them for around 6 months so place the frosted pupcakes on a baking sheet and place in the freezer for about an hour or so until they're frozen. Then, transfer them to a freezer-safe zip top bag and store in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Frosting:
Put the softened cream cheese into a medium sized bowl, add the flour and honey, and stir together using a rubber spatula mix until smooth and fluffy.

Frosting the pupcakes:
If you want fun fancy frosting you can transfer the frosting to a pastry bag with any tip you like attached and pipe the frosting onto the pupcakes. You can also simply spread the frosting on with a butter knife, whichever is easiest for you.

I frosted some pretty and then was over it. (as you can tell) It made 30 so minus the FOUR I gave my two boys this what is made. (and I tried one)

The birthday boy snuggling with his new toy while he patiently waits for me to finish baking. (I turned around and saw him immediately grabbed my camera)

ALL DONE!

One of his tricks is called "cry baby" and he lays down and pouts but he was so excited he wouldn't lay out all the way so his boobit (butt) is still in the air. So cute

Source: Foodpluswords.com