Smoked Gouda Macaroni and Cheese

It’s amazing I’m blogging right now because I don’t feel that hot but I feel that I’ve been slacking so here I am, checking in. It’s been a busy weekend. On Friday morning I drove up to Maine. Yesterday afternoon I drove back down to Boston and today I have been doing homework and napping intermittently (and hopefully kicking whatever this is to the curb). All that doesn’t mean I have neglected eating, how ridiculous!

I picked up this smoked Gouda at Trader Joe’s last weekend and have been trying to decide what I wanted to make with it. On a day like today, comfort food sounded ideal so I used it to make a quick and easy macaroni and cheese.

{Smoked Gouda Mac & Cheese}

serves 4

• 8 oz. whole wheat shells (or any other short pasta of your choice)
• 2 oz. smoked gouda (grated)
• 1 T butter
• 1-2 T ap flour
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 shallot, chopped finely
• 1 1/4 c plain, unsweetened almond milk (or cow’s milk)
• couple dashes of garlic powder
• 1/4 whole wheat panko crumbs

Pre-heat oven to 375. Spray baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Boil water for pasta. Cook pasta according to package directions.

While the pasta is cooking, begin your roux. Melt butter and add 1 T of ap flour. Slowly add in milk. If roux isn’t thickening, add in more flour up to 1 T. Season with salt and pepper. Add in garlic powder and chopped shallot. Remove from heat and whisk in grated cheese until melted.

Add pasta to baking dish. Pour cheese mixture over pasta and stir to ensure pasta is evenly coated. Sprinkle top with panko.

Cook in pre-heated oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Though this is extremely filling, I am craving dessert. But I think I’ll abstain given how iffy I’ve been feeling today. I’m attempting to quell the urge right now by burning this new candle I picked up today.

It smells delicious. Highly recommend. Pumpkin buttercream sounds like everything my dreams are made of. Alright, I’m back to the books.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

When it rains… it makes the ground wet

Can someone please tell me how people actually find roommates on Craigslist? Since I’ve posted my listing (about 3 weeks ago) I’ve had more responses from humanitarian workers in remote parts of the world that want to wire me money to reserve the room than actual, real interest. I’ve tried scanning my ad to see if there’s anything in there that might yield this result but there’s nothing. I requested that the individual be employed yet have received at least 3 inquiries from people with out jobs that have “some leads”. Please. That may be indeed true for some but I’m leery when the e-mail is being sent on behalf of someone on behalf of someone else who isn’t the same person who signs the e-mail. You are looking for a progressive roommate who likes sunshine and smiles? Keep looking. That’s not even a joke… that was a real e-mail. That is not to say that I’m not progressive and yes, I do like sunshine and smiles but I’m not sure they are in my roommate criteria short-list. Sigh. The search continues…

I was trying to take pictures of the apartment this morning and Griffy managed to make an appearance in just about every one.

Anyway, aside from that on going search, the weekend was a good one. How could it not be? It was long. Friday night we went out for sushi, Saturday we enjoyed some drinks in town with friends and Sunday the man-friend and I had dinner at The Palm. It was a surprise and I can’t wait to go back again. Last night I made dinner for the two of us. I found a recipe for Brazilian Coconut Chicken on allrecipes and I’m still thrilled with how it came out.

Rub 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into 2-inch pieces with this spice mixture. If you don’t like a lot of heat, I suggest reducing the cayenne a bit. Add 1 T olive oil to a pan and bring to medium heat. Add chicken pieces, flip after about 6-8 minutes. Flip. Cook until chicken is no longer pink. Remove pieces of chicken from pan.

To the still hot pan add 1 T minced ginger, 2 cloves garlic (minced) and 1/4 onion (chopped). Add additional olive oil if desired. Cook until onions start to turn translucent (just a few minutes). Empty contents of one 15 oz can of diced tomatoes into pan (drain a bit of the juice out first). If desired, add chopped jalapenos (seeds removed to reduce heat). I used 3 with seeds. Finally, pour one can of lite coconut milk into the pan. Reduce the heat to med-low. Let cook for a few more minutes then add the chicken back in. The sauce will NOT get super thick. That’s okay. You are going to serve it over rice. Preferably Basmati. Or you can use brown rice if you prefer. I used 1 c dry rice and that amounted to 4 servings once cooked. To serve, place 3/4 c rice in bowl (I used pasta bowls). Top with 1/4 chicken and sauce mixture. Enjoy!

Make this meal pronto. It will bring you sunshine and smiles. And perhaps it will send a roommate my way…

Hot Mess

No… I’m not talking about myself. I’m talking about this fantastic dinner I made the other night and subsequently have been eating the leftovers from for the past three nights. That’s good for something because this girl usually can’t stomach eating leftovers more than one time.

Isn’t it a beauty?

I kid.

But who cares when it tastes incredible and leaves me so full and satisfied?

Not me.

As a Foodbuzz Tastemaker, I received these three bottles of Crisco Olive Oil at no cost to sample and review. You know I love olive oil, I use it all the time. So, as you can imagine, I was pretty psyched. I was sent Crisco’s Pure Olive Oil, Extra Virgin and Light. As you can see in this picture, I cracked open the Pure. It sounded like the perfect one to use for roasting the veggies in the above dish.

Oh yes, more about that. What you see there is Vegetable Moussaka. Apparently Moussaka is a “Greek favorite”. Anyone out there who is Greek/more worldly than me (probably most everyone), is probably rolling his or her eyes. But listen, I’d never heard of Moussaka and fortunately now I have because this is going to be a regular around here.

Vegetable Moussaka adapted from The Illustrated Kitchen Bible

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant, cubed
• 1 medium zucchini, cubed
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
• 4 T Crisco Pure Olive Oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 t dried Thyme
• 1 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes, undrained
• 1 15 oz can lentils, drained
• 1 1/4 c plain non-fat yogurt (or Greek if you have it)
• 2 extra large eggs, lightly beaten
• pinch of paprika
• 3 oz feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 T sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss eggplant, zucchini and red peppers into roasting pan. Drizzle with oil and toss. Season with salt and pepper.

Roast for 10 minutes. Stir in garlic and thyme. Continue roasting for 35 minutes or until tender. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Stir in tomatoes with juices and lentils into roasted vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to a four quart baking dish.

Beat the yogurt, eggs and paprika together and season with salt and pepper (if desired). Spread over vegetables and sprinkle with feta. Place on baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for 10 minutes more, or until top is golden brown. Let stand for 5-10 minutes. Serve hot.

Makes 4-6 servings.

No scrambled eggs or bacon, I just have time for you

I’ve been a bad blogger. I’ve ate and made delicious things and didn’t take picture and have neglected to tell you about them in any capacity. Sorry. Kinda. Really I’ve been adjusting to having a school schedule again in the midst of trying to figure out my housing issue (waaah, don’t leave us Christine!). And I’m not gonna kid you, I’ve been a complete basket case to pretty much everyone. Luckily there are still many some willing to put up with me. And make me food when I’m sulking on the couch.

The man-friend, aka Matt, made me this delicious stir-fry. It was a combination of fried pork strips with baby corn, red peppers and spinach served atop rice noodles. My taste buds are still dreaming of this dish.

My friend Laura gave me this HUUUUUGE zucchini from her garden. I know you can’t tell but it was seriously as long as my forearm and crazy wide. I used it for two meals. One of said meals was an incredible zucchini lasagna with chickpea filling. I ate it all. As in the entire lasagna, by myself, in 4 sittings. I cubed the rest of this zucchini monster and cooked them up to serve alongside cauliflower rice and sesame-soy crusted chicken tenders.

Then I came home from work one day and near polished off the entire container of these. Whoever came up with them definitely had me in mind. So thank you.

I hope this brief recap was worth the wait. I’ll get my crap together I promise.

Is anyone else super busy/exhausted this time of year?

Leaving Ft. Lauderdale

In about an hour we are leaving Fort Lauderdale. Though I was here for a 3-day orientation for my graduate school program, I still did get to enjoy my surroundings.

We enjoyed some delicious food.

And had our share of frozen drinks (many enjoyed poolside).

Though we’ve had a great stay in Fort Lauderdale, I’m ready for the next leg of our vacation. See you from there!

When in need of comfort…

We turn to our friends. We turn to our family. We turn to delicious food.

The last couple of days I’ve been up in Maine wishing I could turn back time. And that comfort food could truly comfort in even the most difficult times.

Truth is, it can’t. But sharing delicious food with friends and family can comfort. So this is my plea to you to spend more time sharing delicious food and making memories with your family and friends. You can start by making this delicious dish:

{Tofu, Spinach, Carrots and Rice Noodles in a Peanut-Coconut Sauce}

• 6 ounces rice noodles, cooked and drained
• 3 c spinach, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced thinly
• 1 block tofu, pressed to remove liquid and cubed
• 1 t sesame oil

For the sauce:

• 1/2 c light coconut milk
• 3 T smooth peanut butter
• 2 T soy sauce
• 5 T rice vinegar
• 2 T honey or maple syrup
• 1 T grated ginger
• 1/4 t chili flakes
• 1/4 unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Cook rice noodles according to package directions. Set aside.

Combine all ingredients for the sauce in a food processor and combine. Set aside.

In a large pan, heat sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add tofu and cook until starting to brown. Add spinach and carrots. Continue to cook over heat until spinach has wilted.

Add sauce to tofu and vegetable mixture. Stir. Let sauce warm for a few minutes then pour tofu/vegetable/sauce mixture over rice noodles. Serve.

*yield about 4 servings

Spring Cure-All

New England folks, what is with this weather?! Enough already, for serious. I’m so ready to disobey dress code and wear my flip-flops to work. Can we at least get a warm-up? Home girl does not like to walk the dog in mittens… in May. Work with me mother nature.

I guess it goes without saying that this weather has me down. I think even more so than the winter blues. At least winter weather is a given. Crappy May weather is just mean. But in any case, I have been feeling under the weather. I thought it was allergies and now I’m thinking it’s a sinus thing. To be frank, it feels like my eyeballs could pop out of my head at any moment. Better hope you aren’t the person I’m in front of should that happen.

Given my current condition I wanted something hearty yet healthy for dinner. And yes I feel crappy but yes I’m also being a bit dramatic. I have this theory that eating massive amounts of vegetables when I’m getting sick will keep it away. Who knows, but I guess it can’t hurt. Last night I ate about a pound of roasted vegetables and tonight I made a pasta dish with roasted peppers and creamy hummus. This one’s a keeper, albeit simple. It’s satisfying and delicious… even if I did have to have a bowl of blueberries with balsamic right after, for the antioxidants of course.

{Spaghetti w/Creamy Hummus and Roasted Peppers}

Ingredients for one

• 2 oz dry spaghetti, I used Ronzoni Garden Delight
• 2-4 fire roasted peppers, I used jarred
• 2-3 T hummus (recipe to follow)

Cook spaghetti according to package. Go ahead and chop peppers while your pasta is cooking. When pasta is done, drain and put into bowl for serving. Mix hummus until fully combined. Stir in peppers at end. Eat entire bowl – you will never get sick again!

{Creamy Hummus}

• 15 oz can chickpeas, drained with 3 oz liquid reserved
• juice of one medium lemon
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/4-1/3 c tahini
• cayenne pepper sauce, I used Frank’s
• Salt & Pepper

Drain chickpeas of all but 3 oz of liquid. Put liquid aside. Rinse chickpeas and remove skins. This is important for creaminess, if you don’t want to bother – then don’t. Your hummus just won’t be as creamy. Transfer chickpeas to food processor. Add garlic. Pulse until roughly blended. Add lemon juice, tahini, cayenne pepper sauce and s&p. Process to smooth, adding reserved liquid through feed. Refrigerate leftover hummus and consume within 3 days.

And I lied, I cannot promise you will never get sick again if you eat this dish. But you’ll like it, I guarantee that.

Another Way I Like My Vodka…

I enjoy a good cocktail from time to time. I’m not a Tequila girl, I’m intimidated by Whiskey and I may have drank too much Rum back in college. But Vodka, I can handle. In small doses. This Vodka sauce though, I could eat a bathtub full of the stuff. It’s that good, I swear.

Paired-up with delicate spaghetti squash? Yes, please. What’s even better? This version of Vodka sauce is lightened up. Does it taste like it? No. It doesn’t. Not at all. In fact, it’s still creamy and rich and packed full of flavor. And because you are eating it over spaghetti squash (which is RIDICULOUSLY good for you), you can go ahead and use your thick slice of garlic bread to wipe your bowl clean.

{Vodka Sauce}

Slightly adapted from Cooking Light

• 1 T olive oil
• 2-3 shallots, chopped
• 1/4 t crushed red pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 c vodka
• 1/4 c vegetable broth
• 1 can italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/4 light cream
• 3 T fresh basil, chopped
• grated parmesan cheese, for topping

Heat oil in large non-stick skilled over medium-high heat. Add shallot to pan and sauté until tender (about 4 minutes or so). Add garlic and sauté for another minute. Add vodka and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until liquid is reduced by about half. Stir in salt, broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and let cool slightly.

Place tomato mixture in food processor, process until smooth then return to pan. Mix in cream and cook sauce for an additional 2 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in basil. You may either mix pasta (or spaghetti squash) with sauce or spoon sauce over already plated pasta. Garnish with additional basil (if desired) and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Serves 3-4

*For the spaghetti squash, simply pre-heat oven to  350 degrees. Cut the squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out seed and goop from the middle. Place halves cut side down on a cookie sheet sprayed with Pam. When squash is done, the flesh will be easily scraped into “spaghetti” shreds with a fork.

Edited to add: I was inspired to serve my Vodka sauce over spaghetti squash by Jess over at The Saucy Kitchen.

Pea and Sausage Risotto

My roommate’s last graduate school class is tomorrow night. Therefore, Thursday has been coined the beginning of our “operation bombshell”. Have no fear, that essentially means we won’t allow ourselves to eat 2 dozen Chocolate Chip Buckwheat Cookies in 2 days. Though if you decide to make them, good luck not eating at least 5 straight out of the oven. Since I’m not taking any classes this semester, I’m merely sympathy snacking. I don’t want her to feel bad for eating more cookies than me, you know? I’m a good friend like that.

We might even get crazy and shake the dust off of Jillian’s Yoga Meltdown. The two times we did it were pretty entertaining. Or I may just stick to the gym. Catching up on world news while I get my sweat on is more my style. And my attention span stinks. I need people and things to look at to pass the time. We’ll see.

What I’m getting at is that this risotto dish was incredible easy, reasonably nutritious (I know, I know… there is SAUSAGE in it) and modifiable. Soy Sausage or chicken sausage could easily replace the Hot Italian Sausage I used. I also used very little oil and mostly water to cook the risotto. And because it was so tasty, I won’t omit it from my “operation bombshell” menu. Whatever that means.

{Pea and Sausage Risotto}

Inspired by Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice

Ingredients:

• 2-3 links hot italian sausage (I used 3 leftover links… already cooked)
• 1 red onion, diced
• 2 T chipotle olive oil
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 t dried basil
• 3/4 arborio rice
• 4 c vegetable broth (I used 1/2 c veg. broth with 3 1/2 water)
• 1 c frozen peas
• salt and pepper
• freshly grated parmesan cheese, for serving

If your sausages are uncooked, brown them in a skillet over medium heat. If you wish, you may break them apart and cook crumbles. I chose to slice mine.

In a large sauce pan, saute onion in olive oil. When tender, add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add rice and basil and cook for several minutes. Continue to stir often.

Add about 1/2 c broth and bring to simmer. As rice absorbs broth, add more at about 1/2 c at a time. When you have about 1 c of broth remaining, add in cooked sausage and frozen peas. Add remaining broth until absorbed.

Taste test risotto to make sure rice is tender and not undercooked. Serve immediately with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Makes 4 servings.

Curried Ground Turkey with Sweet Potatoes

I took a nap after work tonight. I hate doing it but it was totally necessary as I felt as though without one, I couldn’t be productive at all. To be honest, I wasn’t productive even though I did take one. But at least I made dinner. The temptation to order take-out or eat leftovers was there but I also had ground turkey thawed so the decision was pretty much made for me.

Why am I tell you this? I don’t know. Other than I woke up with a stiff neck, a headache and the urge to eat half a bag of Yukon Gold Potato Chips. Have you had them? They are the thickest potato chips I’ve ever had. They’d be the perfect vessel for a great creamy dip… or you can be like me and just shovel them into your mouth until your roommate whisks the bag away from you.

Without said bag of chips as a distraction, I refocused on my only task of the night: to prepare dinner. I took off to the supermarket where I wandered around (probably with pillow lines on my face) with a bunch of parsley and a bag of frozen peas. I struggled with the self-checkout (nothing new) which didn’t want to accept my $1 bill after happily scarfing up my $1.15 in change. 30 minutes elapsed and I returned home with parsley and frozen peas… and an idea. An idea that ended up being delicious.

My apologies for the long-winded, round-about way of telling you about my dinner. Sometimes the best things are born of sleep-induced drunkenness.

{Curried Ground Turkey with Potatoes}

Ingredients:

• 3 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 LB ground Turkey
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 3 Garlic Cloves, chopped
• 1/2 C. Peppers, chopped
• 1 T. Fresh Ginger, grated
• 1 C. Water
• 1 T. Curry powder
• 1 t. Turmeric
• 1 t. Chili Powder
• 1 t. Ground Coriander
• 1 t. Cardamom
• 2 large Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 can Diced Tomatoes with chilies
• 1 C. Frozen Peas
• 1/2 C. chopped Fresh Parsley

Heat oil over medium heat in a large pan with a lid. When the oil is hot add the ground turkey, spreading it out over the pan. Cook meat until it begins to brown.

Add chopped onion and peppers. Stir and sauté for about 5 minutes. Salt the mixture.

Add grated ginger, garlic and mix and sauté for another 1-2 minutes.

Mix in the spices, water and potatoes. Stir and cover. Turn heat down to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

When potatoes are tender, add diced tomatoes and peas. Mix and recover the pot. Cook for a few more minutes. Season to taste.

Mix chopped parsley in before serving.

Serve over rice or by itself.

*Serves 4-6

Peanut Noodles with Sriracha-Lime Tofu

I have been looking forward to sharing this dish with you because I can’t stop thinking about it. It was absolutely delicious, spicy and flavorful. The balance between the delicate rice noodles and the rich, creamy sauce was perfect. The vegetables had the perfect amount of crispness to contrast the noodles and the tofu took on such great flavor from the sriracha and lime it was cooked in. I loved it so much I ate it for dinner three times this week and wish there was still more. And that’s coming from a girl who doesn’t really love leftovers.

{Peanut Noodles with Sriracha-Lime Tofu}

Ingredients:

• 1 c. vegetable broth
• 5 T. all-natural peanut butter (I used crunchy)
• 2 T. honey
• 1 T. Sriracha
• 2 T. Liquid Aminos (or Soy Sauce)
• 1 T. grated ginger
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 block extra-firm Tofu, pressed to remove liquid
• 2-3 T. lime juice
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed with garlic press
• 1 T. grated ginger
• 2-3 t. canola oil (or sesame)
• 8 ounces of rice noodles
• 1 c. chopped green onion
• 1.5 c. carrot shreds
• 1.5 c. broccoli slaw
• chopped peanuts (for garnish)

For the sauce, combine first 6 ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat until sauce becomes smooth and well-blended. Stir occasionally. Set-aside when done, should take 5-10 minutes.

Boil water for the rice noodles and cook according to package directions. Drain.

Cube pressed tofu in 1/2 inch cubes. Toss with lime juice, crushed garlic, grated ginger and salt & pepper (if desired).

Heat a large skilled. Add oil and tofu. Sauté until tofu starts to brown. When done, remove from heat and set aside.

Add green onions, carrot shred and broccoli slaw to skillet. Saute until tender but still crisp. You may wish to add a bit of vegetable broth to aid in this.

Toss noodles with peanut sauce. When well mixed, plate peanut noodles atop a vegetables. Top with tofu and chopped peanuts. Enjoy!

*Serves 4-6