Macaroni & Cheese with Cauliflower

My kids (and husband) love mac n' cheese so I thought this was a fun and healthy twist to an old favorite. The little bits of cauliflower add fiber and vitamin C. This recipe makes a massive amount, so be warned. This is another great vegetarian meal if you are cooking on a budget.

Macaroni & Cheese with Cauliflower

Ingredients:

12 ounces of multigrain elbow macaroni

1 head of cauliflower, roughly chopped into small pieces

4 slices of multigrain bread, torn (I used Trader Joe's Sprouted Multigrain Bread)

1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped 

3 T olive oil

1 tsp kosher salt

3/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 onion, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups shredded or grated extra-sharp cheddar

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1/2 cup milk

1 T dijon mustard ( I like Grey Poupon)

Butter for greasing the baking dish

Directions:

Heat oven to 400. Cook the pasta in a large pot (you will use the pot again later) according to the package directions, adding the chopped cauliflower during the last 3 minutes or cooking time; drain.

While the pasta is cooking pulse the bread in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Add the parsley, 2 T of olive oil and 1/4 tsp of salt and pepper. Pulse to combine and then set aside.

Return the pot that you cooked the pasta in to medium heat and add the remaining 1 T of olive oil. Add the onion, 3/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper and cook until the onion is soft, 5-7 minutes. Mix in the pasta, cauliflower, cheese, sour cream, milk and mustard. 

Transfer to a shallow 3-quart, greased baking dish, sprinkle with the bread crumb mixture, and bake until golden brown, 12-15 minutes.

Serve with greens or green beans. :)

Black Bean & Sweet Potato Burritos

I got this recipe from my friend Amanda a long time ago and since we end up cooking it almost every other week I thought I'd share. I try to cook vegetarian meals once or twice a week to save money and this one keeps popping up on our menu board. I cook both the sweet potatoes and the black beans ahead of time in the crock pot so the burritos are very easy to assemble. Here's what I do- one day I'll chop, cook (in the crock pot w/a little bit of water) and freeze the sweet potato.  Then that same night I soak the black beans in water over night, drain that water, rinse and fill with fresh water and then cook in the crock pot all day the following day. Then you just have to saute the onion in the olive oil and add the sweet potato, beans and spices.  You can also just use canned black beans. I just prefer the taste of fresh cooked beans. This makes 10 burritos which is way too many for our family to consume in one sitting so I bake half of them and then freeze the other half to bake on a different night. You can also freeze them individually for easy lunches. 

Black Bean & Sweet Potato Burritos

Ingredients:
3 cups sweet potatoes, diced
1 onion diced or chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 1/2 cups cooked black beans
2 tsp ground cumin
1 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 T brown sugar or sucanat (or 3 T if you like it sweet like my hubs & kids)
10 tortillas (I use whole wheat or ezekiel sprouted wheat)
12 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Sour cream & salsa

Directions:
Sauté sweet potatoes until tender (Or cook in a little water in the crock pot ahead of time).  Add black beans, onion, cumin, cinnamon, salt and brown sugar/sucanat; cook until heated through.  

Divide bean mixture among tortillas, give a healthy sprinkling of shredded cheddar and roll up.   I usually secure each burrito with a tooth pick so they stay rolled up. Place in a 9x13 pan. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20-25 min. Remove foil and cook for another 5 minutes.

Serve with salsa, sour cream, and/or avocado.  Garnish with cilantro. Also great with mexican rice and corn on the cob!

Chili Pie

This is a great use for leftover chili and you can modify if however you like to meet your tastes. It takes literally 5 minutes to pull together and about a half an hour to cook. Good meal for a busy week night. I just sort of made it up as I went so you may have to adjust a few things. :)

Chili Pie

Ingredients:
4 cups left-over chili
1 cup frozen corn (thawed)
6-8 oz shredded sharp cheddar
1 egg
3/4 cup whole milk
1 box of Trader Joe's Cornbread Mix or 2 boxes of Jiffy Cornbread Mix
Butter

Directions:
Grease a 9x13 baking dish or a large corning ware dish with butter. Stir together the chili and corn. Spread mixture in the bottom of the greased dish and sprinkle with the cheese. In a separate dish stir together egg, milk and cornbread mix. Pour over top of the cheese and chili. Bake at 350 for about 40-45 minutes or until cornbread is golden brown and cooked through.  Scoop into bowls and serve with sour cream.

Swedish Meatballs

Have you ever made Swedish meatballs? If not, you should. They are probably one of the best foods EVER. They are a bit time consuming but they'll last you a few meals and you could even make a double batch because they freeze and reheat really well. It takes me about 2 hours start to finish so allow yourself some time for this one. Now you are saying "Two hours!? No way. Who has that time?" but I promise, IT IS WORTH IT. I made these on Christmas Eve and just did bits and pieces at a time throughout the morning.  This will be your family's new favorite meal. :) 

This is where the original recipe is from: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/swedish_meatballs/

Swedish Meatballs 

INGREDIENTS:

Meatballs:

·       1 large yellow or white onion, peeled, grated (through a cheese grater) or finely chopped

·       2 Tbsp butter

·       2/3 cup whole milk

·       4-5 slices of bread, crusts removed, cut into pieces (My dad uses crushed swedish hardtack which is also really good. I use sprouted wheat bread)

·       2 eggs

·       1 pound ground pork

·       1 1/2 pounds ground beef

·       2 teaspoons sea salt

·       1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

·       1 teaspoon ground cardamom

·       2 teaspoons black pepper

Sauce:

·       6 Tbsp butter

·       1/3 cup flour

·       1 quart beef stock

·       Lingonberry jelly

Directions:

1 Sauté the onion in the 2 Tbsp of butter over medium-high heat until the onions soften and turn translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

2 In a medium bowl, mix the bread pieces with the milk. Set aside until the bread soaks up all the milk. When it does, pulverize the bread in a food processor and pour it into a large bowl.

3 Add the cooled onions to the bowl of milk and bread. Add the rest of the meatball ingredients—eggs, ground pork, ground beef, salt, nutmeg, cardamom, pepper. Using your hands, mix well for about 2 minutes until the ingredients are well combined.

4 Use a tablespoon to measure out the meat for the meatballs. As you form the meatballs, set each one aside on a sheet pan or plate. You should get 40 to 50 meatballs.

5 Heat 6 tablespoons of butter for the sauce in the same sauté pan you previously cooked the onion in over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the meatballs. You will probably be able to fit 12-15 meatballs at a time. Do not crowd the pan. Work in batches, using tongs, browning them slowly on all sides. Be gentle when you turn them so they don't break apart. Do not cook the meatballs all the way through, only brown them at this stage. It takes about 10 minutes per batch. Once browned, use a slotted spoon to remove them from the pan, setting them aside so you can make the sauce with the remaining pan butter.

6 Start the sauce slowly whisk the flour into the pan butter. Stirring often, let the flour cook until it is the color of coffee-with-cream; this is a classic roux.

7 As the roux is cooking, heat the beef stock in another pot until it simmers. When the roux has cooked until the color of coffee-with-cream, slowly add the hot beef stock a little at a time. Everything will sputter at first, and the sauce will seize up and solidify. Keep stirring and adding stock slowly, and it will loosen up and become silky.

8 Add the meatballs to the sauce (again in batches) and turn the heat down to low. Cover the pot and cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Remove each batch with a slotted spoon and store in a serving bowl until all of the meatballs are finished cooking.

9 When finished, move the meatballs to a serving dish and pour the sauce over top.  Serve the lingonberry jelly on the side.

Christmas Menu

I have so many fond memories with my family surrounding the holidays and good food. My dad loves to cook and has always spent a lot of time planning and preparing wonderful meals for our family.  As a  young child we would always have a huge Scandinavian feast on Christmas Eve with my Great Grandparents and the rest of my dad's family before exchanging gifts. Tables would be decorated with wooden horses, candles, mini Swedish and Norwegian flags and plates would be full of Swedish meatballs, fish, cheese, eggs, sausages and spritz cookies.  I remember my mom making leftse, krumkake and sandbakkel. My grandma on her side still mails me little packages of leftse around the holidays. We also had a tradition of having a English Christmas in honor of my step-mom Barbara and her mother. That meal includes a standing rib-roast, yorkshire pudding, brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes and gravy. We finish the night with party-poppers containing paper crowns and silly toys (why does my dad ALWAYS get the annoying kazoo!?). As a new mom I really want to start establishing some family traditions of our own for my children to remember. This year we had our "English Christmas" with my parents in Florida in early November and we aren't going to Brad's hometown until after Christmas because of his job responsibilities.

It was the perfect time to try my hand at some old family recipes and create a holiday menu for our family to have for the years to come. I would be lying if I said that my heart wasn't a little sad that my mom couldn't just come over and spend all day baking with me to show me how it was all done. She always made Christmas and the holidays so special for us. But instead of sitting around in grief and feeling sorry for myself I will use her as my inspiration to create wonderful memories for my own children.

I love to cook so I hade to much fun working on this menu. Hopefully I can add to it in the years to come! I wanted to blog this so I can remember what I made and where I bought things. . . also to share some great recipes. So here it is!

Christmas Eve

Breakfast

Fresh Christmas doughnuts from McArthurs in Kirkwood

Lunch/Dinner- Smorgasbord

Swedish Meatballs (I used this delicious/perfect recipe)

Potato Sausages from Hanlen's Meat Market

Deviled Eggs

Cheeses, crackers and fruit from Trader Joe's-we opted for triple cream brie and blue cheese

Checker board and Brussels cookies from this cookbook. (I will try my hand at a few more next year!)

*Next year I will also try to make Glögg but we didn't have enough people to drink it this year and Lord knows Brad and I don't need to be drinking the entire batch ourselves.

Christmas Day

Breakfast

Sausage and Egg Breakfast Casserole- found here and made the night before.

Fruit cups- Grapefruit, oranges, clementines and strawberries cut & served in half of a grapefruit.

Sparkling Cranberry Juice- from Trader Joe's

Lunch/Dinner

Ham from Honey Baked Ham- there is seriously no better ham in the whole.wide.world. Don't tell me what's in it, ok? Ignorance is bliss and it is just once a year! I can eat my weight in this stuff. I tried calling to see what was in their ham and they wouldn't tell me because it is a secret recipe. Is that legal? Knowing me, it was for the best. ;) I digress. . .

Mashed Potatoes and gravy

Steamed green beans (I prefer brussel sprouts but the kids do NOT)

Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

Spiced Cider

Merry Christmas to you and yours!!!

Cheesy Chili Mac

So sometimes you just crave some good old comfort food, especially in the winter. I grabbed a magazine from Whole Foods awhile back called "Skillet Suppers" that was put out by America's Test Kitchen. It was an impulse purchase at the time but it has produced some new, easy family favorites for us and the beauty is all the dishes are cooked in ONE POT. Fewer dishes=Happier Mama. I hesitantly decided to try this recipe for chili mac. . .the boys love their mac n' cheese so add meat to it and you've got their dream come true in a bowl. It hit the spot for my entire family. Everyone down to the baby gobbled it up and it was so easy and pretty cheap to make. I made a few modifications.

Cheesy Chili Mac

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
Salt
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon of brown sugar or maple syrup (heaping)
1 lb lean ground beef (I used grass-fed 85% lean beef)
2 cups water
1 (15oz) can of tomato sauce (I used Trader Joe's Organic)
8 oz elbow macaroni (I used De Cecco)
2 cups shredded italian cheese blend (I used Trader Joe's Three Cheese blend)

Directions:
Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat for a minute or so. Add onion, chili powder, cumin and 1/2 tsp of salt and cook until soft, 5-7 minutes. Stir in garlic and brown sugar and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add beef and cook, breaking up meat, until lightly browned and no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in water and tomato sauce, then add pasta. Cover, increase heat to medium-high and cook stirring often until the pasta is al dente. It should maintain a vigorous simmer.

Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of shredded cheese. It may seem a little too "saucy" at this point but don't worry it'll thicken up as it sits. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and remaining cheese. Cover again until the cheese melts and let stand, off heat for 2-4 minutes. Serve.

Apple-Cranberry Crisp

Directions:

3 cups cubed Granny Smith apple (about 1 pound)
2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup pure cane sugar
Butter for greasing the baking dish

Topping:
1/3 cup sprouted wheat flour
1 cup regular oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar or sucanat
1/4 cup butter (melted)
Preparation

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine the first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl; Spoon into an 8 x 8-inch baking dish coated with butter. Lightly spoon the flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Combine flour, oats, sugar, and butter, stirring with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle over the apple mixture. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until bubbly. Top with vanilla ice cream and enjoy.