Real Mac n' Cheese

This is hands-down my husband's favorite dish. Anytime we have to bring something to a barbecue or potluck, he requests that I make this. The mustard really adds to the dish. I tried to approximate a measurement, but what I usually do is squirt the mustard sort of in a big zig-zag across the surface of the macaroni before mixing it in well and this seems to be just the right amount - experiment with what suits your tastes.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. elbow macaroni
1/2 stick butter (or 4 T.)
1 T. tabasco or Texas Pete, approx.
1 can evaporated milk (12 oz)
2 eggs, beaten
1 lb. sharp cheddar cheese
2 T. mustard, approx.
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

Boil the macaroni in salted water and drain.

Place it in a baking dish - I always use my Pampered Chef stone baking dish (I think it's a 9x9).

Cut the butter into chunks and mix it in with the pasta until melted.

Add the Texas Pete sauce to the evaporated milk and stir about half of it into the pasta.

Add the eggs, half the cheese, and the mustard. Season with salt and pepper to taste and mix well.

Bake uncovered for 10 minutes. Then remove and add half the remaining cheese and half the remaining milk. Stir and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

Remove and add the last of the cheese and evaporated milk. Stir and return to the oven for another 5 - 10 minutes.

The mixture should be creamy and starting to thicken around the edges.

Best Chocolate Cake Ever

Hot Cocoa Cake

This is super-yummy. My husband doesn't even like chocolate cake normally, but we
fought over the last slice of this (he held me off at knife-point while he devoured that last piece).

Ingredients:

Cake:
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. + 1/8 t. cayenne powder
1 c. water
1/4 c. oil
1 T. vanilla extract
1 T. balsamic vinegar

Glaze:
1 1/2 c. confectioners sugar
2 T. water
2 T. butter, melted
1 t. vanilla extract

(I'm working on a different glaze for this cake - possibly using marshmallow creme - but haven't come up with one I really like yet)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

Grease your cake pan and dust with cocoa powder - I usually dust it with my
less expensive, unsweetened cocoa powder rather than my favorite Ghirardelli.

Combine the first 6 ingredients, stirring until everything is pretty well blended together.

Add the last 4 ingredients and stir the mixture until smooth.

Pour the batter into the cake pan.

LICK THE SPOON - I'm telling you, it's divine.

Bake the cake for at least 30 minutes, probably more depending on the size and type of pan you use. Use a toothpick to check for doneness - if it comes out clean, the cake is done.

Place the pan on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes before removing the cake. Allow the cake to completely cool before spreading the glaze over the top. Allow the glaze to run down the sides.

Now quick - eat the cake before your spouse comes along and sees it.

Creamy Tomato Ravioli

This is one I came up with years ago and has been a favorite. All the ingredients can be found at Aldi.

1/2 c. chopped onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 c. olive oil
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 small can of mushrooms, chopped
1 T. oregano (use less if using dried seasonings)
1 T. parsley (ditto)
1 T. basil (ditto)
1 t. Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
2/3 c. evaporated milk or cream
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
1 package cheese or mushroom ravioli, cooked

Saute the onion and garlic in oil until tender.
Add the tomatoes, mushrooms, and herbs and cook for about 10 minutes.
Reduce heat and add evaporated milk to the tomato mixture. Cook about 5 minutes longer, stirring frequently.
Prepare the ravioli according to the package directions and drain. Add them to the tomato sauce and gently stir. Cook about 3 minutes longer, until everything is nice and hot.
Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over top and serve.

Pierogi Favorite

This is one of my family's favorites. My husband George is from Pennsylvania, from PA Dutch country. He introduced me to pickles on hot dogs (he had never seen a red hot dog before!!), "real" cheesesteak sandwiches, and those peculiar little pastries called pierogis. Now I can't get enough of them. This recipe combines several of our favorite things and just tastes homey and good.

1 c. water
1 t. Old Bay seasoning
1/2 head of cabbage, cut in quarters
2 or 3 ears of corn, cut into thirds
4 Italian sausages, cut into thirds
1 T. butter, divided
1 box (12 oz) frozen mini Pierogis (we like potato and cheddar)
Coarse sea salt

Cook the pierogis as directed on the package. We usually sautee them, straight from the freezer, with a little butter until they are nicely browned and the center is no longer hard.

Then bring 1 c. water and the Old Bay to a simmer in a very large pan or Dutch oven.

Add the cabbage, corn, Italian sausage, and 1/2 T. of the butter. Also sprinkle in a little sea salt.

Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, turning a couple of times, until the cabbage and corn are tender.

Add the cooked pierogis and the rest of the butter. Toss and cook another five minutes or so. I usually break the cabbage apart a little, and add another little sprinkle of salt if needed.

Enjoy!

Great salad

Last night I decided to make a spinach salad that turned out pretty delicious. Almost all the ingredients were ones purchased from Aldi. The only thing not from Aldi was the fresh parmesan, but it's possible you can buy that there, as well.

I got the kids involved making this. They were able to help with washing and drying the spinach, adding the toppings, grating the cheese, measuring ingredients, and shaking the vinaigrette. Older kids can help (with supervision!) with some of the actual "cooking", freeing us up for working on the main course. They can be really great at tasks like "stirring constantly" - which seem exciting and grown-up to them, but tedious to us!

I started out with about half a bag of spinach greens.
Then I took probably 1/2 cup of sliced almonds and caramelized them (heat the almonds in a pan until nicely toasty brown and then add sugar, stirring constantly, until the nuts are covered with the melted sugar)
I put a layer of greens down in a big bowl and added half the caramelized almonds, a big handful of dried cranberries, croutons, and then grated 1 or 2 T. of fresh parmesan cheese. Then I added the rest of the greens and repeated the toppings.

Berry Vinaigrette:
In a Tupperware shaker, I combined:
2 oz. olive oil
1 oz. garlic red wine vinegar
2 or 3 T. jam (I used Fit and Active Reduced Sugar Fruits of the Forest Spread from Aldi)
Adjust the amounts to suit your taste - our kids like this vinaigrette a little sweeter.
Shake well.