Mac and Cheese Muffins

What a  fun way to eat macaroni and cheese.

This was a very basic recipe that originally didn’t call for any seasoning other than a little salt added to the bread crumbs.  You can basically make mac and cheese the way you normally do, but bake it in a greased muffin tin for a different and fun presentation. It’s also a neat way to control portions and serving sizes. 🙂

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. In a small bowl, stir together the bread crumbs and olive oil ; set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook for about 8 minutes, it should still be a little bit firm. Remove from the heat, drain and return to the pan; stir in the butter and egg until pasta is evenly coated. Reserve 1/2 cup of sharp Cheddar cheese and stir the remaining Cheddar cheese, milk and mozzarella cheese into the pasta.  Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika, to taste. Spoon into the prepared muffin tin. Sprinkle the reserved cheese and the bread crumb mixture over the tops.
3. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the topping is nicely browned. Allow the muffins to cool for a few minutes before removing from the pan. This will allow the cheese to set and they will hold their muffin shape.

Modified from: All Recipes

Warm Bacon Potato Salad

I decided to make this at the last minute on Easter Sunday after seeing it made on Down Home with the Neelys the day before.  It looked so good and we had all of the ingredients to make it except for the dill and course grained mustard. I was so glad I tried this- it was amazing! I’ve made it a few times since then. I don’t like mayo based potato salad so I am in love with this recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon coarse-grained mustard
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 1/2 pounds red potatoes, diced into 1-inch cubes
• Salt
• 6 bacon slices, chopped
• 1 medium sized red onion, diced
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup freshly chopped dill leaves, plus more for garnish

Directions:

For the vinaigrette:

Mix vinegar, mustard, and sugar together in a small bowl and set aside.

Add potatoes to pot of salted cold water. Bring to a boil, over high heat, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes until tender. Drain and place in a large bowl. Cover with foil to keep warm, if necessary.

Add bacon to large saute pan and cook until crisp over medium heat. Remove to a paper towel-lined sheet tray and reserve. Add onion, dash of pepper and garlic to bacon grease (I drained most of the grease and added a little olive oil to the pan) and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add vinaigrette to vegetables. Let cook until reduced and thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Add potatoes, dill and bacon to the pan and toss to coat with dressing. Allow to cook for 3 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Transfer potato salad to a serving platter and sprinkle with chopped fresh dill.

Recipe and photo from:  Food Network

Cilantro Slaw

I love cole slaw but hate mayonaisse, so I am always making vinegar based slaw.  I came across this recipe and had to try this new slaw variation! It didn’t call for vinegar but after reading the reviews, I did decide to add a couple splashes of it anyway. I used balsalmic vinegar. I love cilantro so this was a perfect, healthy dish for me to make. Very refreshing!

Cilantro Slaw

Ingredients

12 ounces purchased shredded three-color coleslaw mix
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons canola oil
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

Place coleslaw mix and cilantro in large bowl. Whisk canola oil, lime juice, salt, and pepper in medium bowl to blend. Add to cabbage mixture; toss to coat.

From: www.epicurious.com, Courtesy of Bon Appetit, June 2006

 

Egg Salad Sandwiches

This was the first recipe that I ever tried for egg salad and Scott loved it. I’d planned to add relish to it because my mom always used it but I didn’t have any. When I told Scott he was happy because he likes it without relish anyway! So, this was a good recipe for him. He’s been asking me to make it again for a while now… I finally got around to it! When I remember, I also add a few sprinkles of Old Bay seasoning in the salad and/or Paprika over the top.

Egg Salad Sandwiches

Ingredients

• 8 hard-cooked eggs, diced
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup dried onion flakes (I use about an 1/8 of a cup)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dill weed
• 8 slices white bread

Directions

In a bowl, gently mix the eggs, mayonnaise, onion flakes, salt, mustard powder, garlic powder, pepper, and dill. Cover, and refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight. To serve, spread equal amounts on 4 slices bread; top with remaining bread slices to make sandwiches.

Note

If using promptly, begin by placing onion flakes in a small bowl and adding 1/4 cup hot water. Let sit 10 minutes, or until soft. Drain and discard the water, then add the rest of the ingredients to the onion, blending well.

From: www.allrecipes.com, submitted by Sara Slade

Trudi’s Potato Salad

This post was written by my mom.

 

 

 

 

 

I usually don’t measure ingredients when making potato salad, however I paid special attention today (and kept notes), making adjustments as I went along. I guess I did pretty good since my daughter, who to my knowledge has never eaten potato salad, (even though I have made it since before she was born) ate some and said it was good!

 

This batch was also special because my daughter asked me to make it for my grandson’s second birthday party!

Ingredients

5 lbs potatos

2 stalks diced celery

1 small sweet onion diced

6 hard boiled eggs chopped

3 hard boiled eggs sliced for garnish

¼ cup sweet relish

¼ cup salad cubes ,drained

1 large jar diced pimento

1 ¼ to 1 ½ mayonnaise

2 tsp celery seed

2 tsp prepared mustard

2 tsp sugar

Seasoned salt and black pepper to taste

Paprika for garnish

Directions

Peel, cube potatoes, cook in dutch oven pot until fork tender.

Drain in colander, cool in refrigerator for approx 15 minutes

Return to pot add onions, celery and eggs.

Mix remaining ingredients (except sliced eggs) in bowl, pour over potatoes and stir until well coated.

Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed

 

Fried Fish and Onion Rings

This was my first time frying fish or making onion rings so I took the easy way out and bought pre-maid mixes to fry them in.  So, I don’t have a recipe to share. I just followed the directions on the box.  All I added to the fish fry mix was a teaspoon of Old Bay Garlic and Herb seasoning.  For the onion rings, all you do is peel and slice them and coat them in batter mixed with water (or beer or milk).  I wanted to add cajun seasoning to them but my mom is visiting and does not like spicy food. Now that I have the frying part down, I may venture out and make my own batter next time.  This was pretty good though.  And easy!