Stovetop Mac and Cheese

ingredients:
2 cups dry elbow noodles
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp. flour
3 tbsp. butter/margarine
2 cups milk
1 tbsp. sour cream
1.5 cups of sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese
dash of dry mustard powder
dash of seasoned salt
salt and pepper

hardware:
large nonstick pot
colander
chef's knife
chopping board

procedure:

1. Boil the noodles in salted water (should taste as salty as seawater) with the olive oil for 9-11 minutes, to your preferred doneness. Drain and leave in the colander.
2. Peel the garlic, finely mince it, and then crush it into a paste with the side of your blade.
3. Melt 1 tbsp of the butter/margarine over medium heat in the pot you used for the pasta, then scrape the garlic paste into the pan. Saute the garlic for about a minute.
4. Add the rest of the butter/margarine to the pan and melt, then stir in the flour. Cook until it combines into a paste.
5. Add the milk to the pan gradually, stirring constantly. This forms a roux, the base for almost all of my cheese sauces. It makes the cheese break down evenly into a smooth, uniform product rather than being stiff and stringy.
6. Simmer the milk down until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add the sour cream, dash of mustard powder, dash of seasoned salt, and pepper; stir to combine.
7. Add the cheese gradually, stirring constantly.
8. Add the noodles back to the pot and stir to combine. Taste it to determine whether you need additional salt, and add some if so. Heat until it reaches your desired temperature.

comments:
Macaroni and cheese is my absolute favorite food. Any pasta and cheese combination is the most delicious thing to me. I refuse to eat Easy Mac (it's really gross) so anytime I have a craving I just whip this up right quick.

I always like it with mustard powder, and I've seen recipes saying you can substitute the wet mustard from your fridge, but it is just not the same. It tastes like you have mustard in your macaroni, which is okay but not preferable.

I started making my macaroni with seasoned salt after a guy I used to date way back when made it for me that way. Every time I make it for people like that, I get great feedback and requests to make it with seasoned salt again next time. My biggest suggestion is not to use too much, you don't want it to be obvious or overpowering.

The Perfect Steak

I don't have a grill. I hope this will change in the near future. But it's okay, because I prefer my steaks pan-seared. I was going to make a post detailing how I do this, but I recently began re-watching Alton Brown's Good Eats series and saw that he had already done it for me.

I make my steaks EXACTLY as Alton Brown does in this clip. I use ribeyes, because I adore fatty, flavorful cuts of meat. As he does, I cook it in a cast iron pan. I also eat my ribeye medium rare and only season it with salt and pepper.

Watch this video to learn how to make my idea of a perfect steak.

Applebee's 3 Cheese Chicken Penne

ingredients:
1/2 chicken breast, cooked (see this recipe for an idea)
2 cups dry penne pasta
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp. flour
3 tbsp. butter/margarine
2 cups milk
1 tbsp. sour cream
1 cup Italian blend shredded cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
1/2 small tomato
1 tsp lemon juice
dash of oregano

hardware:
large nonstick pot
collander
chef's knife
chopping board

procedure:

1. Boil the noodles in salted water (should taste as salty as seawater) with the olive oil for 9-11 minutes, to your preferred doneness. Drain and leave in the collander.
2. Peel the garlic, finely mince it, and then crush it into a paste with the side of your blade.
3. Melt 1 tbsp of the butter/margarine over medium heat in the pot you used for the pasta, then scrape the garlic paste into the pan. Sautee the garlic for about a minute.
4. Add the rest of the butter/margarine to the pan and melt, then stir in the flour. Cook until it combines into a paste.
5. Add the milk to the pan gradually, stirring constantly. This forms a roux, the base for almost all of my cheese sauces. It makes the cheese break down evenly into a smooth, uniform product rather than being stiff and stringy.
6. Simmer the milk down until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add the sour cream and salt and pepper, stir to combine.
7. Add the cheese gradually, stirring constantly.
8. Add the noodles back to the pot and stir to combine. Heat until it reaches your desired temperature.
9. Dice the tomato and pour the lemon juice over it. Drain any excess. Throw a dash of oregano over the tomato.
10. Serve the pasta with the tomato and chicken on the top, and a sprinkle of extra parmesan cheese.

comments:
Story time! I used to work at Applebee's and I simply could not get enough of their 3 Cheese Chicken Penne. Except that I was a vegetarian at the time, so I got it without the chicken. Also, I grew up not liking raw tomatoes, so at first I would order it without the bruschetta. But then I tried it one day, and realized that I had grown to love tomatoes, especially in cheesy pasta. Then another day much later, I realized that my life is too short to not eat food that I love, like chicken and steak.

Anyway, since I don't work at Applebee's anymore, but I still crave this pasta all the time, I figured out how to make this recipe at home. They serve it with garlic bread, but I've never seen a huge need to add even more starch onto rich pasta dishes.

Cajun Chicken Breasts

ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts or however many you want to cook
cajun seasoning
water
2 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. butter/margarine
salt and pepper to taste

hardware:
deep pan with a lid

procedure:

1. Bring enough water to come 1/3 of the way up the sides of the chicken, lemon juice, and margarine to boil in the pan.
2. Coat one side of the chicken with the cajun seasoning of your choice. I like Zatarain's Blackened Seasoning.
3. Once the water mixture is boiling, add the chicken to the pan seasoning-side down. Season the other side now that it is facing upward in the pan.
4. Once water begins to boil again, reduce heat to medium and cover.
5. Cook for 11 minutes, then flip the chicken breasts and cook for another 11 minutes on the other side.

comments:
I say 11 minutes on each side, but I still always cut my chicken open to make sure it's done. It's pretty hard to time it exactly when chicken breasts come in widely varying sizes and thicknesses. I'm also paranoid about food poisoning, although I've never had it.

This might seem like a weird way to cook chicken, by cooking it in a salted broth, but I find that it keeps the chicken very juicy and it gets the flavor all the way into the meat of the chicken.

Another note: you can use ANY spice or spice combination you want with this basic recipe. I make chicken like this every single week. To make lemon pepper chicken, I up the lemon juice to enough to cover the bottom of my pan, then use lemon pepper seasoning. I also enjoy using Grill Mates Montreal Chicken seasoning in this recipe. Change it up, experiment. I do this often with garlic, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes and balsamic vinegar in the pan. Go wild.

Side note: Trevor swears he doesn't like any chicken that isn't breaded and fried, but he will eat this.

Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese

ingredients:
24 oz. elbow noodles (about 6 cups or 1.5 16oz boxes)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 blocks sharp or extra sharp cheddar, or one of each depending on your preference
2 cans cheddar cheese soup
3 cups milk
1 cup sour cream
8 tbs butter or margarine
1 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard powder (don't substitute refrigerated  mustard for this)
1/2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper

hardware:
large crock pot
large pot
collander
chef's knife
chopping board

procedure:

1. Boil the noodles in salted water (should taste like seawater) with olive oil for exactly 6 minutes. You want them to be under-cooked. Drain and leave in the collander.
2. Cut your blocks of cheddar into chunks about 1 square inch. No need to be perfect, and no need to grate the cheese. 
3. Melt the butter/margarine over medium heat (I like to reuse the pot I boiled the noodles in for this), then melt the cheddar into it, stirring constantly.
4. Turn the crock pot on low. Add the cheddar cheese soup, milk, sour cream, seasoned salt, mustard powder, and paprika to it. Stir to combine.
5. Pour the noodles into the crock pot and stir.
6. Pour the melted butter/margarine and cheese mixture into the crock pot, as well as pepper to taste and stir all together. After stirring well, taste it and add additional salt to your taste.
7. Cook on low for 2.5 hours.

comments:
Crock pots vary in how they cook things, so I have some additional tips for this dish. Check on it about every 30-45 minutes to ensure it isn't getting too dry. If it begins to get dry, add a bit of milk. If it isn't melting down well enough, turn it on high for an additional 30 minutes after cooking on low for 2.5 hours.

BBQ Pulled Chicken

ingredients:
6 - 8 boneless skinless chicken breasts, thawed
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups of ketchup
1/2 cup mustard
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp your favorite hot sauce
dash of ground red pepper (cayenne pepper)
salt and pepper to taste

hardware:
large crock pot
mixing bowl

procedure:

1. Combine the ketchup, mustard, maple syrup, lemon juice, worcestershire sauce chili powder, garlic powder, hot sauce, ground red pepper, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl until thoroughly mixed.
2. Splash the olive oil into the bottom of the crock pot dish. Pour enough of the barbeque sauce into it to cover the bottom. Put a layer of chicken breasts into the dish, then cover them with more of the sauce. If there are any left, make another layer of chicken and sauce. Stir all together until chicken breasts are evenly coated.
3. Set it and forget it. Set the crock pot on low and cook for 4 hours.
4. Leaving the sauce in the crock pot, remove the chicken and shred with two forks. This can be difficult with the amount of chicken you're working with, so keep a significant other handy to take over when you get tired. 
5. Add the chicken back to the crock pot and stir in with the sauce. Set on low and cook for another hour.

comments:
Trevor likes to take a direct approach and just eat it straight up. I like to serve it on onion rolls with ranch coleslaw, mustard, pickles and hot sauce. To make the coleslaw, all I do is combine shredded slaw mix, Duke's mayonnaise, a splash of lemon juice, and ranch seasoning.

Creamy Chipotle Chicken

ingredients:
1.5 cups water
1 package thinly sliced chicken breasts, thawed
1 lime, juiced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chicken boulion powder
2 bell peppers (any colors you like)
1 large white onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 jalapeno pepper
1 can chipotles in adobo
1 package washed, sliced mushrooms
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup sour cream
pepper to taste 
Mexican blend or your choice of cheese

hardware:
large nonstick pot
chef's knife
chopping board

procedure:

1. In the pot, add the water, juice of the lime, salt, and chicken boulion powder. Bring to a boil and add the chicken.
2. Cover and simmer chicken for an hour. Shred chicken apart in the pot with two forks, then cook for another 30 minutes.
3. While chicken is cooking, dice onion and bell peppers and finely mince garlic.
4. I recommend wearing gloves because slicing a jalapeno can leave your fingers burning. Cut the stem off the jalapeno then slice it lengthwise. Scrape the seeds into the trash unless you like very spicy food. Dice the jalapeno.
5. Get 3 or 4 of the peppers out of the can of chipotles en adobo. Slice them into small bits. Using a spoon, collect about a tablespoon of the adobo sauce from the can, add it to the pot.
6. Add the onion, bell peppers, garlic, jalapeno, chipotles, mushrooms, chili powder, cumin, whipping cream, sour cream, and pepper. Stir all together until mixed.
7. Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer uncovered for another 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.

comments:
You can serve this over rice, in a taco shell or tortilla, with tortilla chips, as a quesadilla, any way you like. I like to do it restaurant style, with black beans, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, the works. My boyfriend tends to just eat it out of a bowl. Just remember if you do a quesadilla, don't get too much of the cream sauce in it or your result will be soggy.

Spicy 3-Meat Sauce

ingredients:
1 large white onion
1 package sliced mushrooms
3 cloves of garlic
2 whole bay leaves
1/2 cup red wine
mild italian sausage links, skins removed
hot italian sausage, ground
1/2 lb lean beef
2 medium fresh tomatoes
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can peeled tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
grated parmesan or italian blend cheese

hardware:
large nonstick pot with lid
chef's knife
chopping board
wine opener

procedure:

1. Nonstick pot on medium-high heat. Once hot, add meats and break down into chunks. Stir them together and cook until completely browned. Drain about half the grease out of the pan.
2. While meats are cooking, dice the onion and tomatoes, and finely dice the garlic. Pour the wine over the cooked meats and stir.
3. Add the diced vegetables to the pot, along with the mushrooms and both cans of tomatoes. Crush the whole canned tomatoes and add the whole bay leaves, salt and pepper, and stir.
4. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for an hour and a half, stirring occasionally.
5. Serve over pasta with a sprinkle of cheese over the top. 

comments:
This one speaks for itself. I was so proud of myself when I came up with this recipe. It is simply delicious.