Just Not What I Grew Up with

There are certain things you should just not mess with.  I have written about my Granny's recipe for Mac and Cheese before on this blog.  To me, it is what Mac and Cheese should be.  I would describe it as dry - meaning it is not made with a bechamel sauce.  It is the easiest mac out there (the blue box does not exist in my world).  So, tonight, I went up against all my preconceived and correct notions about this dish and went for a new recipe. 

The recipe from Cooking Light for Stovetop Mac and Cheese (with chicken sausage) was not bad, it just isn't what I grew up with.  It could not be much more simple to put together, but the taste and texture is just not what I grew up with.  I did, however, enjoy the addition of the sausage (it brought a nice flavor).  By the way, this dish works well when cooking for 2.  There's enough for dinner size portions and a little bit leftover for lunch the next day.

Recipes Unrelated

The last couple of days have included cooking and eating, but I have had a hard time getting my thoughts together regarding the results.  Here we go (in no particular thought pattern):

Saturday:

To the dreaded slow-cooker, I added a questionable recipe. 
Fish in the slow-cooker...I have done it and now I won't need to do that again.  There is really no way to know exactly when it is ready and the recipe I used was less than desirable in the flavor department. 

Sunday:
Guests over (Drew's parents).
In a complete change of pace for me, I got somewhat intimidated by the planned recipe and decided to go with a tried on true recipe. 
Chicken and Dumplings done a la Sandra Lee (who I find mostly annoying...for a number of reasons, one of which includes her recipes actually tasting good). 
The other recipe did the whole thing from scratch and for some reason intimidated me. 
While thinking about this at length (I have nothing else to fill my days), I realized it was because I have never had chicken and dumplings other than the ones by Sandra Lee.  When I was a child, the word "dumpling" disturbed me and I refused to even try this dish. 
The Chicken and Dumplings turned out very nice and I recommend them heartily to anyone who, unlike me, is fine with the word "dumpling" and its implications.

Also made Pumpkin Spice Bars (Christmas with Southern Living 2009) for dessert.  These were somewhat disappointing.

This was ironic because it was the Chicken and Dumplings I was concerned would not meet the standard of Sandra Lee (and thus the other recipe was tossed).  I was really looking forward to the Pumpkin dessert.
There is another pumpkin bar recipe I have made a couple of times in the last couple of years and it is phenomenal.  This one, not as much.  I would have rather had the other.
While thinking about disappointing desserts (again...nothing to fill my days), I started realizing that dessert is something you don't mess with. 
I really can't have dessert every day because of the calories and so if I want dessert, it is going to have to be something tried and true, something to look forward to, something to talk about.
This is magnified when dining out.  In addition to the caloric intake factor, there is an expense to consider.  This is the reason I don't order dessert at most restaurants.  I don't want to be disappointed and a brownie with ice cream on top is not usually worth my time.  The list of must have dine-out desserts for me is extremely small...sad!

Monday
Today was the first day I woke up and was cold.  It was one of those days!  This meant soup. 
So, I got started on PC's Creamy Harvest Soup.  This involved roasting various fall veggies, pureeing them, adding cream, and serving. 

It was not that bad, but not that great.  Drew said, it didn't have" much flavor."  I agreed with him that it was mild. 

There you have it.  You are caught up in the kitchen.  And in the meantime the Mavs have won the last two games, tonight's had the best ending of the season.  A cold-ish day and a win - can't beat that!

Ham Happiness

For those of you who have read past posts regarding my slow cooker adventures, you will not be surprised to hear that it was with great trepidation that I served tonight's dinner.  As I prepared tonight's foray into the world of slow cooking, I realized, "this may not go well."  You may know one of the rules to slow cooking food is: always add liquid.  This recipe lacked liquid.  I was apprehensive. 
Let me give you the rundown for the evening.  We invited Ken and Conni (Drew's parents) and Stacie and Morgan over for dinner.  Sometime this afternoon I put together the recipe from Fix it and Forget It: Ham and Scalloped Potatoes.  The worst part of the preparation (don't hate me PC) was the slicing of the potatoes.  I used my new and improved, much safer mandoline from PC.  It took quite a while to slice all nine potatoes required for this recipe, so long in fact that I didn't slice the last two.  I gave up.  This mandoline does not seem to work as easily as the last incarnation.  Granted the last incarnation nearly cut my thumb off twice.  This one seems to require much more force behind it and I had to cut each poato in half and then put it on the little food pusher thing, then get it all lined up.  This process took a good 20 minutes.  Not my idea of fun, but I could also blame this on my stubborness.  I had a knife that works and I could have just as easily sliced the potatoes thin, but then I could not rant about the mandoline.  (Remember, I told you PC, you can't hate).   All that said, I got the whole thing together and then checked the recipe for the third or fourth time to try to see where I had missed the liquid.  Alas, there was no liquid and I began to fret.
I moved on to dessert next.  I made Ultimate Chocolate Pudding from Christmas with Southern Living 2009.  I enjoyed the process of making pudding from scratch because, I confess, I have never done this.  I used Ghiradelli cocoa for this attempt and I was very pleased with the results.  I tried a little bit off the spatula, then I tried a little more, and I little more.  Then I had to put the bowl in the sink and run water over it to make sure I did not lick the whole bowl.  If you have never made chocolate pudding from scratch, I highly recommend it.  It was good even whilst warm.  I put it in individual serving bowls and chilled it until after dinner.

So, the reckoning came and I was still very nervous.  I had forewarned our dinner guests that if it was awful, we would order pizza.  AND...It turned out o.k.  In fact, it was better than o.k., it was good, even great.  Everyone really liked it and Ken even got seconds (not a normal thing for him since the stroke).  It was a hit!  It don't know what you are doing to me slow cooker, but you get me every time.  Someday, I will understand your whims and ways.  Tonight, I was just happy that it worked!  Oh, I must add that this does not photograph well, so you will just have to imagine a wonderfully constructed, yet somewhat ugly dish with all the comfort of home.  We served this with crescent rolls and green beans.  A pretty well rounded meal.

Then we had coffee (well a couple of us did) and dessert. The pudding was wonderful!  Mmmm!  The biggest fan was Connil.  I can add this one to the list of her favorites.  She would like for me to consider making her a pudding sandwich.  I will consider this at some future date, after I have gotten over the shuddering. 

Simple Supper

Today I was a little under the weather; so after napping on the couch for the afternoon I went upstairs to cut coupons and came across a recipe to try for dinner.  We had on hand everything to make the recipe, so I thought it would be perfect.  Perfect except for one thing.  It was for Pumpkin soup.  My husband does not like pumpkin and will tell anyone that will listen.  I solved this problem by comprimise.  I decided to make something I know he loves and something I know he is not too keen on.  Pretty good idea, eh?
Let me set the stage.  I have never had pumpkin soup.  I do enjoy almost all things sweet and pumpkiny, but I was not so certain myself on things pumpkin savory.  So the solution to my problem didn't just serve Drew. 
So I, still trying to work from what I have on hand, decided upon Macaroni and Cheese.  Yes, readers the Macaroni and Cheese that has been mentioned at least a handful of times on this very blog - Granny's Macaroni and Cheese.  This was a no fail plan.  If the soup was horrible, we would just fill ourselves up on what we know we enjoy. 
Time to prepare dinner came and I started on the Mac and Cheese first. Here's the method (it is more a method than a recipe). 
1.  Cook noodles according to package directions.  Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Butter a casserole dish.
3.  When noodles are ready and drained, layer noodles and cheese (shredded sharp cheddar is best, tonight I used a combo of sharp cheddar and mozzarella - I thought I would try something new) to the top, ending with cheese.
4. Place pats of butter on top.  Sprinkle pepper on top to taste.
5.  Pour milk in the side of the casserole dish to halfway up the dish.  (see why it is a method?)
6.  Place in preheated 350F oven for as long as it takes for the milk to bubble up (this can be tested by slightly turning the dish to the side to see if milk is still milk, if it is still milk, it is not done)
7.  Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Once the Mac and Cheese was in the oven, I read a couple chapters of my book and then got started on the soup.  It was a pretty easy process and, as I said, included items from the pantry.  The recipe is from a Ralph's book of coupons, so if you have that laying around the house, give this soup a try.

Drew started asking questions about the soup very early on in the process.  The first one:  "What all is in this soup?"  Answer: "These are just onions I am cutting right now."  Second (as I hand it to him to take to the table): "Is this a cheese soup?"  Answer: "No."  Third (as he takes the soup and is about to eat the first bite): "Is this squash?"  Answer: "No."  Fourth (after eating two bites):  "What is this?"  This last one was in that tone of voice that implied, "you better tell me what this is."  So, I relented because he had already tasted it.  I told him it was pumpkin.  He gave me a look and then....he ate more!  We had a discussion that it did not tasted like pumpkin, but it smelled like it.  I wanted to scream, "SUCCESS!"   I did not and we continued to eat.  I really enjoyed the fall comfort food meal from the pantry. 

In Memorium

While the rest of the world is obsessing over Julia Child and Julie Powell (the inspiration for the film "Julie and Julia"), I have stood somewhat aloof from this craze.  One reason being Drew and I are not much for most things French.  I know, food snobs in my readership, I will never be a true foodie - oh well.  Another reason must be because I have other heroes in my cooking world.  My heroes have spent lifetimes in their kitchens lovingly preparing food for their families.  They have made recipes not found in cookbooks.  These women in my life have taught me that food is love.  They have shown me the way to prepare food with the eaters in mind - thoughfully and prayerfully.   And they made a kitchen table the place to make the best memories, the place where good food and good conversation led to connections that last a lifetime. 
My world lost one of those remarkable ladies this week.  My Granny, Nellie Grace Dees, passed away on Sunday.  She was a special lady who had a knack for baking that has influenced generations.  I have so many memories from her kitchen in Mississippi.  I will always remember the way her house smelled and the flavors of the food she served.  My favorite recipes of hers are the family favorites I serve Drew now (every now and then): mac and cheese, cheese enchiladas, cherry pie (I ate an entire pie when I was 8 or 9), banana nut bread, just to name a few.  I am so thankful that I got to spend summers at her house when I was young - what a blessing she was to me! 
While thinking about her this week, I have been desiring to make her banana nut bread.  A little comfort food to comfort the weary.

A New Degree

In this world there are many degrees of fabulosity.  Many of these degrees are "new" degrees.  Ghetto. Retro.  Absolutely.  Well, I have come up with my new degree based on tonight's dinner: Starchy fabulous.  Tonight we tried PC's Loaded Baked Potato Chowder from the Season's Best for Fall/Winter 09.  I love potato soup in general.  It is one of those comfort foods for me that is always satisfying.  Drew tends to really enjoy it, too.  I think this is the first time I have ever made a potato soup.  I need look no further for recipes.  I loved how easy this one is to make and the flavors - starchy fabulous.  One of the things that makes this recipe so easy is the Covered Baker from PC.  You do the whole soup in the microwave in less than 30 minutes, including "baking" the potatoes.   I love the idea of putting broccoli in this to change it up next time.  This time, I just cooked up a little bacon, crumbled it, and sprinkled it on top. I ate way too much of this, but I didn't want to miss out on all the creamy goodness.  Mmm!  As my mother-in-law would say, "Put a star by that one!" 

Dinner with Friends

Tonight, we had the privilege of hosting some of our friends for dinner.  I had the special privilege of trying a new Pampered Chef recipe with my very own Pampered Chef!  Becky and Daniel came over and as soon as Becky got in the kitchen, we got to work on PC's 29 Minutes to Dinner 2 Skillet Phyllo Pot Pie.

I would describe this dish as classy with a comfort food feel.  I think it is definitely good enough for company, but it has all the flavors that remind you of fall (Thanksgiving, in particular).  This dish, as promised, goes together very quickly.  We served this with a "green salad."   On the technical side: I would definitely recommend making sure the vegetables are thawed completely before adding them to the pot pie mixture.  If you do not, the finished product can be a little less thick than you may desire.  Additionally, you could make a little roux before putting the rest of the ingredients in for a thicker result.  I enjoyed the phyllo dough "crust."  I think it is definitely worth the time it takes to work with such a delicate ingredient.  Drew thought it was good and I think Daniel and Becky enjoyed it too. 

We had a nice long conversation over dinner, then the guys went upstairs to play video games, while I cleaned up and talked with Becky.  Becky brought over some Mocha Hazelnut sweet rolls (yum!...and so easy) and we took them up to the guys for dessert.  A great night with great friends!  Looking forward to lots of friend dinners as we get geared up for fall!

First Day of Autumn

Can you believe we have officially entered Fall?  This is my favorite season and I have been working hard around the house to get it fall ready (decorations and such).  In honor of the begining of a new, hopefully cooler season, I decided to make comfort food with a twist.  Tonight's dinner was South of the Border Meatloaf from (you guessed it) Pampered Chef Seasons Best for this Fall/Winter.  Here's the review:

Wonderful flavor!  Love the idea of mixing the rub in with the ketchup to make (say it with me)... flavored ketchup.  I modified this a little bit to add more spice by putting half a serrano pepper into the mix.  Awards go to the PC covered baker for making this dish something easy for a weeknight.  A little story to let you know how my day went: I fell asleep while sitting down watching tv at 4:30 PM and Drew woke me up at 7:00 PM, yes 7:00.  I felt like I had been drugged (we think I had an allergic reaction to something I was working with today).  So I slowly extracted myself from the couch (with much effort) and got to the kitchen to make dinner.  It took around 35 minutes from the time I got in the kitchen until dinner was on the table.  I paired this meatloaf with seasoned steamed zucchini.  One note for this recipe, I don't know what I did to make it not stick together enough, but the meatloaf was definitely missing its LOAFNESS (new word for the day).  It ended up being really crumbly - still tasty, but crumbly.  HELP!  Do my readers have any tips for the perfect meatloaf?  Post a comment, I am always looking for new tips!