Panera Stove Top Mac and Cheese (Smells Like Home)
If you can bring yourself to actually purchase and use American cheese, please go and make this right now. It was so, so good. Some notes:
*I used all 2% milk and I warmed it on the stove before adding it. My béchamel sauces have a tendency to seize up and get lumpy if the milk is straight out of the fridge or room temp.
*Next time I would only use 1 tsp. of Dijon mustard. I loooove Dijon mustard so I went whole hog and added between 2 tsp. and a tablespoon. It was still yummy, but I think reducing it to 1 tsp. would be the difference in "Yeah, this has mustard in it" to "What IS that delicious flavor that I can't quite put my finger on".
*Don't leave out the hot sauce. I was skeptical, not because I don't like spice, but I just couldn't imagine it would taste good. I was wrong; it was delicious.
*I used all 2% milk and I warmed it on the stove before adding it. My béchamel sauces have a tendency to seize up and get lumpy if the milk is straight out of the fridge or room temp.
*Next time I would only use 1 tsp. of Dijon mustard. I loooove Dijon mustard so I went whole hog and added between 2 tsp. and a tablespoon. It was still yummy, but I think reducing it to 1 tsp. would be the difference in "Yeah, this has mustard in it" to "What IS that delicious flavor that I can't quite put my finger on".
*Don't leave out the hot sauce. I was skeptical, not because I don't like spice, but I just couldn't imagine it would taste good. I was wrong; it was delicious.
Baked Eggs and Tortillas in Creamy Tomato Sauce (Martha Stewart)
This was a surprise two thumbs up from both of us. I tore this out of Martha Stewart's Everyday Foods magazine many moons ago (RIP...I'm still recovering from that cancellation. It was the BEST.) I just couldn't imagine how this was going to come together, but I was pleasantly surprised. Meets our his and hers weeknight dinner requirements of minimal clean-up/dishes and easy to make. Notes:
*I'm so glad I read the reviews. The original recipe says it serves 4 but several reviews commented that the original recipe could easily serve 6-8. I'm not sure how great these leftovers would hold up over a few days (although I had a small amount reheated in the microwave the next morning and it was still good), so I halved everything except for the cheese.
*I forgot to add the flour. Next time I make it, I'll add it to see if it makes a noticeable difference, but we certainly didn't notice anything off in the texture.
*Mine was set with about 16-17 minutes of bake time. I would watch it starting around the 15 minute mark, because I can't imagine this taking 25 minutes to fully set the eggs.
*I'm so glad I read the reviews. The original recipe says it serves 4 but several reviews commented that the original recipe could easily serve 6-8. I'm not sure how great these leftovers would hold up over a few days (although I had a small amount reheated in the microwave the next morning and it was still good), so I halved everything except for the cheese.
*I forgot to add the flour. Next time I make it, I'll add it to see if it makes a noticeable difference, but we certainly didn't notice anything off in the texture.
*Mine was set with about 16-17 minutes of bake time. I would watch it starting around the 15 minute mark, because I can't imagine this taking 25 minutes to fully set the eggs.
Zucchini Pizza (Rachael Ray)
As I said on Instagram when I posted this on Friday, this is one of only two Rachael Ray recipes you will ever see me make. I can't find the recipe online, but it's from her 365: No Repeats cookbook. Since I make a decent number of changes anyways, here is my version:
*1 ball of pizza dough (I use Smitten Kitchen's Lazy Pizza Dough and use all white whole wheat flour)
*8oz ricotta cheese
*3-4 garlic cloves, minced.
*1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
*2-3 zucchini, sliced into thin round
*coarse salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 500F. Roll out pizza dough into desired shape and prick all over with a fork. Bake pizza dough for 3-4 minutes. While dough bakes, mix together ricotta, minced garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. When dough comes out of the oven, top with the ricotta mixture and most of the mozzarella and return to oven for 8 minutes. While dough bakes, sauté zucchini in a dry nonstick skillet over medium high heat until just tender. When the 8 minutes is up, arrange the zucchini on the top of the pizza and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted and crust is browned.
2 comments:
Panera's Mac and Cheese is one of my favorites! I'm loving that it's the perfect time of year to have the excuse to make these comfort foods!
OMG. That mac and cheese looks like heaven. I may need to make it at some point. Heaven.
Rachel Ray makes me nuts, but I do think their is a recipe I use of hers all the time. Just can't remember what one!
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