Danielle's Mac N Cheese

We wanted to make baked macaroni and cheese, but based on the reviews of Alton's baked mac & cheese (here and online), we decided to switch things up a bit. So we made a hybrid of AB's stove top and baked mac & cheese. We basically followed the stove top recipe, added ham, stuck it in a pan, and topped it with the panko crumbs.

Our hybrid version turned out great! It was delicious, and tasted just about as good the next day as leftovers (reheated in the oven) -- although the leftovers were a bit dry. Oh, one other change we made was that we used a mix of smoked cheddar and sharp cheddar. I loved the smokey flavor, especially with the ham.

Growing up, I never had baked macaroni and cheese. In fact, it's possible that the first time I ever had it was in the last year or so. So I'd never had mac & cheese with bread crumbs on top, but I love the crunchiness added to it! I'm a big fan of baked mac & cheese now. I think we will definitely make this again (the hybrid version) -- although not often for the sake of our arteries. :)

Melanie W.'s Macaroni and Cheese

First of all, I found the Good Eats cookbook at a local library and let me just say, Wow, the book is huge!! Browsing through it I find many of the tidbits helpful and interesting, but I wish it was organized better. You have to read so much to get everything! I also wish there was a table of contents with each episode name listed. The index is ok, but not thorough enough. This mac n cheese recipe wasn't listed under 'cheese' but only under 'macaroni.' And what's up with the "applications" and "software" business? I find that annoying as well. I'm glad I'm able to check this out from the library because it's resourceful, but I don't see myself buying the book, especially since I can get the recipes online.

Ok, on to my food! Like everyone else has said so far, this isn't the best mac n cheese recipe out there, even though Alton Brown says it is. Like his nephew (who's not really his nephew, he admits in the book) said in that video clip, I prefer the stuff from the box. At least over this recipe.

I didn't know how to best tweak it, so I just added more salt and pepper than it called for. I don't know how much salt I added, I just kept adding it til it tasted better, which means it probably had way more than I should admit. :) The book doesn't mention using a bay leaf but I noticed the online recipe does, so I added it halfway through. When eating this it didn't taste too bland, but the taste was just off. For me I think it was the onions. If I were to make this again I'd leave them out. Ham would have been really nice but I didn't have any on hand.

This recipe wasn't a complete waste because my super picky almost 2 year old ate some, I learned what it means to temper an egg, and I learned what Panko bread crumbs are (had never heard of them before). I also found it interesting that he says to rinse the pasta in cold water to stop the cooking....every other source I've learned from has said NOT to rinse pasta! I never knew why though, so I almost always do. Now it makes sense to rinse the pasta to stop the cooking, so rinsing I will continue to do!

For Whom the Cheese Melts 2

The episode for this week is For Whom the Cheese Melts 2. I was looking for a good macaroni and cheese recipe and saw that the one from this set received high reviews. I apologize to all you out there who are having a proper summer and are turned off by the thought of using heat for your food prep, but we are cold and dreary out here by the beach. I needed some comfort food.

I'm a complete sucker for baked mac & cheese with a nice, crunchy topping. This one called for Panko bread crumbs and butter, which I really liked. I'd purchased a bag of the stuff from Costco a few months back and so I'm always looking for ways to use it.


I followed the recipe exactly, except that I decreased the salt (just trying to cut back, in general). I would not recommend doing that. Although it was flavorful with the onion and mustard, it was definitely more bland that I was expecting.

I'm glad I used this recipe, though, because I learned a new cooking skill: how to temper an egg. The excerpt from the episode gives a good explanation of how to do it. I'd never seen the show before, so it was kind of fun to see Alton Brown in action. The video showed him and a kid (his nephew?) concocting this dish together, so I decided to let my son help me out, too. Always a plus when he's happily occupied during dinner-making.

I did like the contrasting creamy and crunchy consistencies and taste overall but it was missing something. Not the amazing mac & cheese experience I was hoping for. It was easy and fast, aside from the baking time, so I will probably try it again but maybe tweak a few ingredients here and there.

Now I need to check out the other mac & cheese recipe to compare...

Catch Up -- Danielle's Cheesy Squash Pasta

I'm trying to stock up on meals I can save in the freezer for after the baby comes. I thought this one would work nicely. I stretched the recipe so that I'd have enough to eat tonight and eat for lunch tomorrow, plus enough for a dinner later. It worked out perfectly.

So here's what I did --

I added a lot more than 1 c. of squash puree (possibly more than doubled it), and I used a lot more than the 1/2 c. of milk called for -- that's mainly how I stretched the sauce. I would've actually added more milk because I thought the sauce was too thick, but I didn't want to dilute the flavors any more.

I also added onion and spinach, and I cooked the onions and red pepper before adding them to the sauce. Then I used pepper jack cheese instead of cheddar. I liked the flavor and spicy kick the pepper jack added. Oh, and as you can see from the picture, I used rotini (whole wheat) instead of bow tie pasta because I couldn't find whole wheat bow tie pasta.

I agree with Elise that the butternut squash flavor in this dish is very good. It went really well with the other flavors. I also really liked the flavor of the cream cheese in it, especially combined with the pepper jack.

I don't make pasta very frequently, but I can see myself making this again.

Danielle's Stroganoff Sandwiches

I have to admit, I didn't think I would love this recipe. But I'm glad I made it. Max and I both really liked it.

Like Deanna, I used ground turkey instead of ground beef. I'm not a big fan of ground beef, but I actually think ground turkey worked better in this recipe. I think ground beef would've been too heavy.

Other things I did differently were that I cooked the green pepper with the onion and turkey because I'm not a big fan of raw (or close to raw) green peppers, and I used fresh garlic instead of garlic powder. Also, as you can tell from the picture, we had ours open-faced, more like stroganoff on toast rather than sandwiches. We just thought it would be a lot easier and less messy to eat that way.

This was a very easy, quick, delicious dinner.

Cami's Butternut Squash Pasta

I too had trouble getting a good picture of this dish. I don't know if it was the color or lighting or what. It doesn't matter though because it was really good. I love all the hearty squash recipes we've done! Squash is something I normally shy away from and now I don't know why.

This is a nice fall casserole type dish. I loved the mix of flavors. My 1 year old really loved it too. We called it squashy pasta and he ate most of the casserole. Like Deanna said, the ricotta cheese made it seem like a treat instead of diet food. I will certainly make this again.

Cami's Shrimp Noodle Skillet

This was a big hit! It is definitely more creamy than cheesy, which I like. I've never used Velveeta before and was worried it would give it an artificial flavor, but I couldn't taste it at all. I think it just added to the texture, which was perfect. My husband is really picky about food and he like this. He requested I put this in the regular menu rotation.

The only modification I made was cutting back on the butter. I used 6 tablespoons. I didn't feel like it was missing anything. Chelsea was right, this makes a ton. Next time I make it I will have to have a large group. I would guess you could serve at least 8 people.

Melanie W.'s Cheesy Squash Pasta

Just playing a little catch-up here.

I had every intention of making this recipe the week it was posted, but for some reason I couldn't find a butternut squash in Ecuador that week.

I'm glad I tried it, because I liked it. I had never cooked with butternut squash before. The extent of my experience with it is making it for my baby. I like that it's a sneaky way to get more veggies into your diet. Like Cami mentioned, I also think it would be great with another vegetable. The only thing I would change is to add a little more pasta because I thought it was too saucy. I'll be keeping this in my recipe files!

Danielle's Chicken Wraps

Again, no picture. Taking a picture of my food is the last thing on my mind when I'm getting dinner ready. And I can't stand to let my food sit there getting cold while I take pictures of it (I can't just snap one quick one, I just can't do it).

Anyway, kudos to Whitney. This was a great dinner! I love a recipe I don't have to go out and buy any extra ingredients for. I was able to make these with everything I already had on hand. (Luckily Max's mom had buttermilk in the fridge. I think that's something I'm going to start keeping around. Buttermilk is one of my new favorite ingredients!)

In the sauce, I used a chipotle pepper instead of jalapeno because I discovered that my jalapeno had gone bad. I'm sure it would've been good with jalapeno, but I love the flavor added by chipotle. I think I'll make it that way all the time.

We topped ours with cheese, corn salsa, avocado, and tomatoes. Yum!

Jessica's Turkey Burgers

When I was 20 or so I went on this crazy diet that involved many many turkey burgers. After the experience of turkey patties day in and day out I had to swear off the TB FOREVER! I was soooo sick of them. So when it came to my attention that this weeks recipe was my forgotten nemesis I truly battled with the idea of revisiting what I had come to know as the horror of Turkey Burgers.

I decided to bolster up some courage and give them yet another try.

THANK GOODNESS I DID

These turned out stupendously terrific

Here's the skinny on what I did

- I served them on Pretzel Buns (these can be found at Hyde Park Produce) a little spendy but so worth it

- I added 1/4 tsp. of ground mustard, it gave them a nice kick

- I upped the salt a tad

- White Cheddar was the way to go

- Classic Yellow and a dab of BBQ Sauce

- Served with Terra Exotic Vegetable Chips

These will definitely be integrated into my cooking arsenal