Pioneer woman meatballs in Delicious Cheesy Sliders

Delicious Cheesy Sliders

Howdy, I have the best meatball recipe to share with you.... 

Seriously. 

These easy-make-ahead beauties are good for school nights, after school before baseball or football practices, great weekend sit around watch football after church lunches, or just to pair with your favorite pasta. Plus, these easy PIONEER WOMAN comfort-food meatballs should be on your menu this week, because school. In my house, we are in our 6th week of homeschooling, and all the public schools are just starting around us. AND then there are fall sports, the nfl (I am a huge football fan), music lessons beginning up again, boy scouts, girl scouts, and everything else in-between that summer offered us peace from (hahaha). Fall makes people CRAZY busy, plus we all want to create fun fall memories, or quickly cling to the last days maybe couple weeks of summer. I feel tired just thinking about it. I'll go get some coffee and come back. 

Since you can't go wrong with any of the PW's yummy ranch meaty recipes, make a double batch, and throw them in the freezer. Actually, According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, "food kept frozen at 0-degrees F. or lower will remain safe to eat indefinitely. After one year, the food may suffer loss of quality due to freezer burn, but it will still be safe to eat because freezing stops all bacterial growth". See this link for more info about freezing/defrosting/food safety  So why not.... take a half day or less, and make a ton of these. You'll be set for spaghetti and meatballs, meatball sliders (pictured above), or meatball subs, or just pair it with your favorite bbq sauce for an easy meal. 

Try it. You won't be disappointed :) 

Beef Make Ahead Meatballs in delicious cheesy sliders: 

Ingredients: 
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs (I used whole wheat) 
1/2 lb. ground pork, sweet italian
2 tsp dried oregano
1 lb. ground beef ( i usually use in-between 93% - 85%) 
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup of milk
olive oil or your choice 1-2 Tsp for browning the meatballs

for the sliders: 
dinner rolls 
provolone cheese cut into 4ths  (Mozzarella also tastes awesome) 
marinara sauce or veggie pasta sauce homemade or store bought

Prep
In a large bowl mix up all the ingredients for the meatballs. 
Form the meatballs into approx 2 Tbs sized balls. 
If freezing - transfer the rolled meatballs onto a baking sheet lined with parchment and freeze in a single layer. 

Cook
Pan fry these in oil of any kind for several minute until they are browned on all sides

If making spaghetti and meatballs, it would be in your best interest to finish cooking the meatballs in your sauce to give everything more flavor. 

If you are serving them as sliders or in bbq sauce as a side or main dish - do finish cooking them all the way through but not overcooking to make them dry (using higher fat content of pork and beef helps with this). Then put them briefly into sauce but not simmer them - so they don't overcook and get mushy or fall apart. 


See... super easy. 
Now go enjoy your busy fall!

Stephanie

Mini Maple Muffins - the CUTEST way to jump into fall

This is only my second fall season in upstate NY but even I can see that maple and apples are a HUGE thing here. Probably... because instead of being in a big city surrounded by skyscrapers we are in a beautiful countryside. Anyways. If you have the privilege of going to a maple farm - its awesome. You should. And if you can't, you should at least treat yourself to as many maple fall things, as humanly possible. You owe yourself at least that. I am just looking out for you. And if I am not being too forward you should starting with this super easy 20-22 minute recipe that so easily fits into your hand, your mouth,and your heart. They are so little and cute (and ahem healthy - but no one would ever guess that this is a zucchini carrot recipe). 

Shhh... These are fun MAPLE treats 😉

Recipe adapted from: Graceful Little Honey Bee 

Short Ingredient List: 

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour or all purpose

1 cup all purpose flour

1 & 1/2 cup of finely shredded zucchini

1/4 cup finely shredded carrot

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 small container plain greek yogurt

1/2 tsp salt

1 & 1/2 tsp vanilla 

1/2 cup of sugar (for a sweet muffin - for not so sweet use slightly less) 

1 egg

2 Tbs good quality maple syrup

optional: turbinado sugar to top 

Easy directions for an Easy fall 

Spray a mini muffin pan with nonstick spray

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

Use a paper towel and wipe the extra spray off and/or run your finger around each hole in the muffin tin to make sure its evenly coated - this extra step will just make sure its easy. 

Mix everything together in a large bowl. Starting with the egg and sugar to make sure the egg is beaten. 

Scoop the batter into the prepped mini muffin pan. If you don't have one, they are everywhere you can buy baking dishes. They will up your breakfast game plan especially if you have kids, for these are so much better sized for little fingers. (ahem or putting into hands as kids run out of the door for the school bus - don't you love fall) 

The batter should give you 20 - 24 yummy fall treats filling the wells 3/4th full. 

Top with turbinado sugar if you are using.... mini mms or mini chocolate chips would also taste good. You are getting your kids to eat 2 veggies here why not splurge a little. 

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let it sit in the tins for 5 minutes. Then move them to a cooling rack! I like to cover them with a paper towel or clean kitchen towel to absorb extra moisture.  

See. Easy to make. Easy to eat. Enjoy! 

BEST. EVER. Pork & Squash Curry Skillet

Sweet nutty butternut squash meets tender pork chunks in a slightly spicy light coconut flavored sauce. The cilantro and lime just puts it over the top. You have to make this... serve it with easy plain white rice, nutty brown rice, or naan or flatbread or all of them.

Fall is practically here. Yay! Summer is my least fav season here in southern az. Fall makes my family happy. I am not chasing them down with sunscreen nor stalking them with water bottles/sippy cups to keep them dehydrated. Skillets and one pan means are the thing right now... which totally makes sense. Fall is busy. Sports. Football. School. Football. School events. Monday night football on tv. Lol yeah we do a lot of football in our house. So in honor of fall, and the busyness that seems to accompany it every. single. year. heres a super tasty super easy one pot skillet dinner. 

Ya literally dump food into a single deep pan, stir, season, dump a few more things in, and let it cook and tah dahhh you're done. Super easy prep. Super easy ingredient list. Super delicious... and ahem if you end up with leftovers no guarantees you will but just incase it does reheat really well.  

Please note: This dish needs a bit of resting time at the end to get that sauce into that thick luscious stunning flavor bomb so it is a great make ahead dish or weekend dish when you have some extra time. Most women I know don't have an hr and half for dinner on a weekday so that's the only ity bity drawback. 

Recipe comes from a fun cookbook titled One Pot One Bowl by Kim McCosker. 

Serves 4 adults when occupied with a couple scoops of rice 

Ingredient list:

1 pound of boneless pork loin cubed (I bought a big one on sale and just had the butcher at the grocery meat counter cut off approx a pound and I threw the remaining meat in the freezer for another meal later) 

2 Tbs green mild curry paste
1 can (about 13 oz) of lite coconut milk 

1 smaller butternut squash cut and cubed - about 3 cups slightly larger than bite sized. The cubes should be the same size as the meat so it cooks evenly.

salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup water
1-2 tsp of oil (optional) 
cilantro (optional but tastes amazing)
1 lime cut into wedges (1/4 of lime per person) really adds important balance and brightness

Easy 3 Step Directions  (yeah its that easy)

1. Brown the pork, move it around until you see some color - color = more flavors and textures. I had to use 1 tsp of oil to get it started but this is not necessary. Pork should be about half way cooked. 

2. Add in curry paste and bring it to a boil. Cook for another 3-5 minutes

3. Add in everything else and cook for 35 minutes over medium or medium low heat. It looks like too much liquid but its okay. When you finish pork should be completely cooked through. and squash should be fork tender still in chunks. Taste it now, carefully, its hot and add salt and pepper to your liking. 

Then its done.... Now the sauce is thin when you finish but when it cools it thickens up which is what you want. So I highly highly recommend you making this an 45 minutes or more in advance and throw it in the fridge so it has time to cool down. After 30 minutes of letting mine rest in the fridge, the serving bowl I had put mine in was chilled, but the food was still warm so I just served it as it - not reheating it but if you need to reheat it go ahead should only take a few minutes. I had hungry kiddos so I served mine then but towards the end of the meal I noticed that the sauce thickened up even more, making me wish i had waited a few more minutes. Empty bowls all around though... 

Garnish with lime and cilantro if using

Eat and enjoy! 
Stephanie

Updated Chipotle Pizza Casserole

The last time I made this Chipotle Pizza Casserole was around December 20th 2012. Where did the time go? The unfortunate part about food blogging is being focused on learning how to cook different recipes with new ingredients constantly, that I rarely remake anything even if they are really good. The two exceptions are spaghetti and pizza my son's favorites. 

This updated chipotle pizza casserole is amazing. My oldest has already asked when we are going to have it again probably because its a mix of his favorite foods and flavors spaghetti and pizza in one dish. Yum! I am glad I looked back and updated this slightly spicy, meaty, veggie laden (shhh!),  cheesy feast. 

P.S. It makes two casseroles... hello yes. Having my little guy hit 5 months old I am now thankful I have an extra dinner already cooked and in the freezer. This casserole makes enough to feed a family of 4-5 twice. Can I be in love with a food item? Not sure. If I could. This would be it. 

Why did I want update this dish? At first I thought the orginal recipe had a typo (not many meals I make create two casseroles and/or only have 1/2 lb of meat) and I also wanted to see if I could still get my family to eat and enjoy a variety of veggies. So I wanted to experiment on my family, while eating healthy and sticking to my food budget. 

What did I update? Oh everything. Cheese - I cut it down approx 1- 1&1/2 oz. Meat - I used lean ground beef instead of ground turkey. Veggies - I doubled the amount of broccoli and used a quick homemade tomato pasta sauce that had eggplant & red pepper. Pasta - I used a veggie pasta instead of one made with white flour. This also made the recipe pop with color because the noodles are green and orange and red. Wine -  I used red wine instead of white. Last I left out the water that the recipe called for - it didn't seem to need it. 

The ingredient list: 

A whole box pasta (mine was 12oz veggie pasta rotini - corkscrew shape)
1/2 lb of ground beef
4 cups of homemade pasta sauce
1 Tbs olive oil
6 oz frozen broccoli (1/2 of a bag)
1/4 tsp salt plus salt for the pasta water 1tsp or so
5 oz of frozen chopped spinach, thawed, and squeezed dry
4 tsp Italian seasonings
2 tsp minced garlic
8 oz / 1 small package of monterey jack cheese shredded 
1/2 cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese 
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp pepper
3 1/4 oz (1 package of pepperoni)
1 chipotle in 1/2 tsp adobe sauce, finely diced 
1/4 cup red wine, pinot noir

Please enjoy this updated version with better pictures and simple step by step directions. Since half of this meal was made while holding a baby, all the seasonings this time were eyeballed them instead of exact measurments. This is a very forgiving recipe.

5 Easy Directions

Step 1 - Cook the ground beef in olive oil. Half way through cooking add in the garlic and all of the seasonings. When beef is done deglaze with the red wine. 

Step 2 - Grab the largest bowl you have and combine the meat mixture, pasta sauce, 1 cup of the cheese, the chipotle pepper diced, frozen broccoli pieces, pepperoni, chopped (previous frozen) but defrosted and excess water rung out spinach.

Step 3 - Cook the pasta according to directions on the box, and add it to the bowl. Use tongs to combine the hot food. 

Step 4 - Gently dump the pasta mixture into two rectangle baking dishes and top them with the remaining shredded cheese. 

Step 5 - Bake both dishes for 25 minutes uncovered at 300 degrees, and then increase the heat to 350 for more 5 minutes. Let it cool 5-10 minutes then start digging in! 

*If freezing the second casserole be sure to cool it completely. Wrap it with heavy duty tin foil, and label the top of the tin foil with the cooking temp and times so you aren't scrambling around for the information later. 

from my Az kitchen to yours,

Stephanie

Energy bites & eating one handed

Greetings!

Energy bites are crunchy, slightly sweet, slightly chocolaty, slightly salty balls of healthy ingredients that you can eat with your fingers in one or two bites. Easy to make. Easy to transport. Easy to feed kid(s) and husbands on the go. Speaking of going...  Let me tell you a story. 

These delightful bites got their name "energy bites" a couple years ago when my son needed quick and easy breakfasts before 8 am Saturday morning soccer games. This was as tricky as it was a pain in the butt. My oldest is not a morning person, and eating a any breakfast is hard for him straight out of bed, and a big breakfast wouldn't have felt good later while he was running and active during a game. So I told him if he ate this "energy bites" he would get extra energy and be able to run faster than anyone. That woke him up from his sleepy "I don't want to move faster than a snail routine" and got him thinking. I wasn't completely lying. This whole grains healthy snack/breakfast is full of good nutrients and thus give the body energy. Faster than anyone? well... it worked okay. 

#Parentwin

So I got through a whole soccer season by convincing my son he could run faster than anyone if he ate this particular food. I wonder if he remembers this... 

P.S. Having a no-cook, finger food breakfast also meant he could eat in the car if we were running late. Who decided 8 am was a good time for a soccer game anyways? I would like a word with that person.

Back to present day... we aren't doing soccer right now but just as adventurous we are doing the live, work, go to college with a newborn baby thing. All of this without caffeine - yes my beloved coffee machine is collecting dust. This recipe is absolutely worth its weight in umm... I don't know pick something. Haven't sleep longer than 4 hours at a time... give me a break. 

The day to day details of living with an adorable infant absolutely means eating and cooking becomes an acrobatic sport. There should be division in the olympics for such events. It would look like pairs of individuals running back and forth to check on the little one, hand offs, rocking chair marathons, and of course eating one handed, trying to eat as fast as possible because the partner is holding the baby and his or her food is getting cold, cooking one handing, trying to eat while not spilling anything on the baby who just fell asleep, and my favorite singing mary had a little lamb or jesus loves you 100 times without losing your voice. AND my schedule some days is completely up to the whims and desires of a 5 month old. Let me tell you though, these "energy bites" are the perfect one handed breakfast or anytime snack. You can even mostly make them with a baby in your arms for the most part.

There's many ways to make energy bites... this recipe comes from mixing two recipes together from Mindy's Oatmeal Raisin Energy Bites and my own pb oatmeal version. I hope you like it as much as we did! 

Cinnamon Energy Bites

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup of rolled oats
1/4 cup ground flax seeds 
1/4 cup of chocolate chips
3/4 tsp of cinnamon 
dash of salt
dash of nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 - 1 cup of cashew butter (warmed in the microwave) 
2 Tbs honey, raw

Directions: 
1. warm the cashew butter until it looks melted in the microwave - about 30 sec to a minute
2. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl
3. Add in the wet ingredients. Mix it all together. 
4. I put a bit of nonstick cooking spray on my hands - helps a little with the stickiness and start cupping oat mixture and form it into balls just big enough for 1 or 2 bites. 

*NOTE: Start with 3/4 cup of cashew butter and if this is hard (if it feels too dry to bind the ingredients together) add more cashew butter. This mixture is extremely sticky but should come together easily. 

5. Put them on a cookie sheet or large plate. Refrigerate them for an hr or so to firm up before eating. Keep them in the fridge for up to a week in a covered container. They probably last longer than that but they never last more than 2 days so I wouldn't know. 

Black Bean & Sharp Cheddar Burritos

If you like bean burritos like the kind from the store that you throw from the freezer into the microwave or the oven, or like taco bell's bean burritos - you will love these black bean and sharp cheddar burritos. They are quick, easy, super healthy (no preservatives or things you can't pronounce), and still is freezer friendly. So you can make a ton of them, and throw them in the freezer for when you get a craving, need a snack with some staying power (black beans = protein & fiber) or need a quick dinner because an adorable little 4 month old won't stop crying to cook anything else. Happens. 

I love sharp cheddar cheese - okay I admit I love most cheeses. But if you don't, grab another kind - any quick melting cheese will work here such as: mozzarella, Colby jack, Monterrey jack, pepper jack, medium cheddar, or mild cheddar. 

I made two batches one with white flour tortillas and one with whole wheat tortillas. I am trying to ease my family into eating all whole wheat, minimally processed foods - its a process. But use whatever you have or want to use. This recipe makes approx 10 burritos. 

Ingredients:

1 batch of homemade refried beans (click here)
6-8 oz sharp cheddar cheese shredded (1 1/2 cups+)
10-12 soft taco sized tortillas whole wheat or white
*quart or gallon sized freezer bags if you want to freeze extras

Directions

1. Make the refried beans - takes only a few minutes
2. Put slightly less than 1/4 cup of beans in the center of each tortilla
3. Put a small handful of shredded cheese on top of each pile of beans
4. Fold up the tortillas
5. If freezing them put them on a cookie sheet for an hr or two to flash freeze them and then transfer them to freezer bags. If eating them right away, microwave them for a minute or heat them on the stove until the cheese is melted on the inside - only takes a few minutes. 

Serve with sour cream, guacamole, tortilla chips, or spanish style rice. Enjoy! 
From my kitchen to yours

Black Refried Beans (from scratch) & doing dinner with an infant

When I was prego I craved taco bell's bean & cheese burritos sans onions bad really bad. But there were a few problems with this craving. Cravings are never convenient. First, I live out in the middle of nowhere sort of. I am 20 minutes away from my fav fast food place, that one that serves amazing chicken sandwiches and advertise with cows. My son adores those cows. Its quite funny actually. We are surrounded by cow farms and they sink really bad. Yet, he doesn't adore those. There is a large disconnect going on someplace. 

Second, I refused to drive that far in my uncomfortable state in hot Az weather (105+ degrees F) to give in to something that was so nutritionally deficient I couldn't even justify it to myself - let alone let a little helpless baby in my tummy eat some junk like that. True story. Just don't ask me about not caving into an ice cream fast food blizzard craving that made me sicker than I care to remember. Deal? Good :)

So I found this recipe and slowly it has evolved into a "go to" dinner for my oldest son and I. It is especially handy now that my littlest guy is a few months old now, and wants to be held all the time time. I can make this awesome creamy homemade refried beans as a side dish at nap time and then and reheat it later or the next day. You'll need this recipe for delicious taco bell-esce bean & cheese burritos (incase you get umm a crazy craving like I did), bean dip, nachos, for Cinco de Mayo coming up in a few months, tacos, black bean & cheese quesadillas, or if you are already planning ahead for snacks during the first preseason football game in the fall (my favorite sport). 

Here's my recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

2 - 14-15oz cans of black beans, reduced sodium, one can drained and the beans rinsed

(if you forget to keep the other undrained add some water)

3/4 tsp salt

3/4 tsp onion powder

3/4 tsp chili powder

3/4 tsp cumin

2 Tbs oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled but not smashed

4 Step Directions:

1. Heat the oil to medium and cook the garlic cloves in the oil until they are brown on both sides about 4 minutes.

2. Smash the garlic cloves, carefully with a fork, & add in the beans and spices.

3. Stir often cook for 5 minutes until beans are heated. Then smash them your preferred thickness of refried beans. I prefer really creamy ones like out of the can from the store - so I pull out my old hand head mixer and it gets it super creamy - no lumps in about 3 minutes. Note I always use a metal pot just incase the mixer scraps the bottom of the pan - don't want to scratch up a nonstick pot. An immersion blender would be awesome at this too.

4. Taste & adjust salt or pepper if needed. 

Eat while warm or cover and refrigerate for later. 
Enjoy!

Baked Spaghetti (adapted from the Pioneer Woman)

Hi there. I didn't forget about my blog just took a longer break than intended. I missed you guys. Had some serious stuff on my plate, but I am back now with some great new recipes to share with you. I have been cooking a bunch this last month but also have been eating out more than usual. Its hard to blog when you aren't home to cook or you're too sick to cook.... anyone else's family got hit this spring with some hefty spring colds?  

Pasta. Pasta. Pasta and cheese. We shall not forget about the cheese. Its one of the 10 commandments isn't it? Okay maybe not but it could've been #11 and we just don't know. I added an extra cup to the original recipe figured it was okay since I was cutting back some sugar. Moderation right? (wink). 

My family loves pasta. Spaghetti, mac and cheese, lasagna, chicken and noodle type dishes, tuna casserole with the big wavy egg noodles, and almost everything else. There's just something about noodles that translates into happy, warmth, comfort, and love. Its going to be over 90 degrees at my house today in southern Az - which doesn't usually scream heavy comfort food -  but this is a pioneer woman's recipe so there's no way I was going to wait until fall to try this cheesy, meaty dish! The flavors are typical Italian dried oregano, tomatoes, onions, peppers, and parsley. But it is magic on your fork and in your mouth. My 4 yr old ate seconds cleaning off his plate with his fingers to get every drop! 

This doesn't happen very often. #veryhappymom

My thoughts about cooking this meal. It takes longer than my usual spaghetti recipe by triple the amount of time - but its worth it. Part of the reason for the long cooking time is the recipe has you make the sauce from scratch, slowly developing amazing flavor. Something I wasn't expecting, when I baked the spaghetti, the presentation and feel of the dish changed. It became something I would be more comfortable sharing with company instead of the usual and familiar pile of pasta. This is similar to when I bake mac and cheese with bread crumbs versus just making it creamy on the stove - the usual dish is elevated. I haven't tried it but you could even make it ahead and bake it off the night you want to eat... since this is a cross between spaghetti and a layered casserole. 

baked spaghetti

total cooking/baking time: approx 1 hr 20 minutes 

(50 minutes is inactive either on stove or oven) 
serves 4-6 people

I changed 5 things from the original which can be found here.

ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil
sprinkle of salt and pepper approx 1/2 tsp each
1 Tbs salt (for pasta water) 
1 lb lean ground beef
1 medium onion, small diced1 red bell pepper, small diced (same size as the onion)
3 cloves of garlic, smashed, unpeeled and finely chopped
1 - 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 - 14.5 can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp dried oregano
half of box of whole grain spaghetti noodles * I used whole grain angel hair pasta
2 cups of cheddar cheese, grated/shredded
1 cup of mozzarella cheese, grated/shredded 
1/4 cup fresh chopped or 1 Tbs dried parsley (garnish)

directions:

1. Start the meat sauce. Brown the ground meat in the olive oil over medium heat in a fairly large pan with high sides. Should take 4-5 minutes to get that great brown caramelization. 

2. While the meat is browning, wash and chop the onion, garlic, and red pepper. Once the meat is browned add it to the veggies, salt, and pepper to pan. Cook for 9-10 minutes. The veggies should be softened. 

3. To the same pan, then add all of the tomatoes, oregano, and sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. But I didn't stand by my stove. This is hands off time.... you don't need to babysit the thickening sauce. 

4. 5-6 minutes of prep while the sauce is simmering away: 

• Start a pot of boiling water on your stove with salt. 
• Shred or grate your cheese. 
• Pull out a casserole dish for later. I used my glass 1 qt rectangle dish. 
• Chop up your parsley. 
• Cook your pasta, 2 minutes shy of the cooking time suggested on the box. For me the al dente time suggested for whole grain angel hair pasta was 4 minutes so I cooked it for 2 minutes. Last, preheat the oven to 350.

5. When the pasta is cooked, drain it, and set it aside. Sometimes I add a tiny bit of oil, after draining, to make sure it doesn't clump. I didn't do that this time and turned out fine but it did stick together a bit more than I would've liked. 

6. Make the layers: When the sauce is done put 1/3 of it in the bottom of the casserole dish, then add 1/2 of the noodles, then top that with half of the cheddar cheese. Repeat the layers with 1/3 more of sauce, the remaining noodles, and 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese. Top with the remaining sauce and bake for 20 minutes.

7. At the 20 minute mark, carefully pull it out and top the baked spaghetti with all the remaining cheeses. Continue baking for 10 minutes. 

8. Pull it out of the oven. Top the meaty, cheesy, saucy dish with the parsley. Let the food rest for 10 minutes in the pan so you can make slices, neat squares or rectangles with a metal spatula. 

9. Eat and enjoy. I bet you'll want seconds just like my family did! 

Thats all for now. 

Enjoy your spring! 

from my kitchen to yours

Smoky Bacon Baked Mac & Cheese

Happy Wednesday to you. This recipe is a gem that you'll definitely want to try!  I made it for the first time a week before Thanksgiving and then again just a few weeks ago. It works great as a potluck bring along, side dish or a main dish. This is comfort food at its best. 

Smoky cheese + smoky bacon + crunchy topping 

+ creamy whole wheat pasta = delicious!

Most people are looking for something healthy and light during the beginning of the year, but most people I know have kiddos. Kids love mac & cheese.  I love mac & cheese. On the family front, pasta is a great place to introduce a new veggie and or a new type of cheese to your kids or your hubby. Think of it as a delicious food exploration lesson versus the diet killer that it could be. But yes if you are on a diet serve this as a side dish with some grilled chicken, fish, or a burger sans the bun and a grilled/roasted vegetable. This recipe has some serious flavor and some serious calories hence me only making it once a month or so. 

Serves 3-5 as a main dish 

Prep + cooking time: 25- 35 minutes

Recipe lighted up and adapted from

Shugary Sweets 

(a fun blog with beautiful pictures)
Posted in collaboration with other bloggers at Whats Cooking Wednesday

Ingredients:
half of a box of veggie or whole wheat short dry pasta (approx 5-7 oz)
2 Tbs butter + 1 1/2 Tbs melted in a separate dish via microwave
1 1/8 cup of 1 or 2 percent low fat milk
1/4 cup of whole wheat white flour
3/4 cup of half and half
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/2 lb of smoked gouda or smoked cheddar cheese, shredded or grated
1/4- 1/2 lb of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded or grated
*optional I have added 3 cups of blanched broccoli into it before right before baking and worked out great
1/2 cup - 3/4 cup of panko bread crumbs (depending on the size of your baking dish - you want the top completely covered - you'll use more if you have a rectangle sized dish). 
4-6 slices of bacon cooked and crumbled (I usually just make bacon earlier in the week and save some of it for this later)

Directions:

1. Cook half of a box 1 minute short of the al dente cooking time of veggie shell pasta or your favorite whole wheat small cut dry pasta. Then drain it. Should end up being 6-7 minutes but do check your own box directions.

2. While pasta is cooking preheat the oven to 375 degrees and prepare a baking dish with nonstick spray or some butter to prevent sticking.  

3. While pasta is still cooking make the cheese sauce. Melt the butter over medium heat in medium sized- large pot. Then add the flour. Let it cook for a minute. Keeping the heat on medium add in the milk and half & half. Whisk it until the sauce begins to thicken. It should be boiling but not hard. Should take about 3-5 minutes for the sauce to get the consistency you want. Remove the entire pot from the heat and add in rest of the cheese sauce ingredients after it it is thickened. Trust me. Doesn't work well the other way. Add in the pepper, dry mustard, and grated or shredded cheese last. Once the cheese is melted you are done with the sauce almost. Taste it carefully - don't burn yourself. Add salt here if needed.

4. Add the sauce to cooked pasta or vise versa depending on which pot is biggest. Stir to coat the pasta with the cheese sauce and carefully pour the hot mixture into the baking dish. 

5. Top the baking dish with crumbled cooked bacon, panko bread crumbs, and last but not least a bit of melted butter to give that great golden yellow color. 

 6. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes uncovered. 

Enjoy!
Stephanie