Jalapeno Popper Mac and Cheese

I absolutely love mac and cheese. It is one of my two absolute favorite go-to recipes when I am not in the mood to make dinner (the other is pizza, but I don't always have fresh dough on hand). To me, making mac and cheese is no big deal, and definitely worth the work. I am worried though that I may be pushing my luck with making mac and cheese so often. I pushed my luck with chick flicks and and my husband. For a while there, every time we went to the movies, my husband wanted to know if s**t blows up. I think I have taken him to enough action movies lately that I have reversed my karma. But I digress.

The other night I wasn't in the mood to come up with something for dinner, so I thought, mac and cheese! But then I worried that Marshall might start complaining "not mac and cheese, AGAIN!" so I had to come up with a unique twist. I started to think about what I had on hand, and Jalapeno Popper Mac and Cheese came to mind.

With my recent love of Pinterest, it may surprise you that I did not go there for the recipe. I just decided to use my tried and true recipe, with a few tweaks. I hope you enjoy this dish as much as we did!

Jalapeno Popper Mac and Cheese

Makes 4 normal, or 2 large servings

4 ounces short pasta (I love cavatappi)
4 slices bacon, chopped
2 tablespoons butter (1 1/2 if using bacon drippings)
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup unsalted chicken stock
1/4 cup half and half
2 ounces extra sharp cheddar, grated
salt and pepper
1/4 sliced pickled jalapenos, chopped
1 teaspoon pickled jalapeno juice
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon olive oil.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook pasta one minute less than package directions. While pasta is cooking, cook the bacon. Drain bacon on paper towels, and reserve fat, if you would like the smoky flavor. Drain pasta, set aside.

Melt butter and bacon drippings (if you reserve the bacon drippings, add only enough butter to equal two tablespoons) in pan used to cook pasta. Add flour and cook for a minute or two, over medium/high heat. Slowly add half and half and chicken stock, whisking away any lumps. Continue to whisk until bubbly and thick. Turn off the heat and season with salt, pepper, and jalapeno juice. Add in 1 ounce of the grated extra sharp cheddar, and stir until melted. Add in the chopped jalapenos and bacon. Stir to combine. Add in the cooked pasta. If the sauce seems runny, that is okay.

Add mac and cheese to 1 quart baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1 ounce extra sharp cheddar, then panko bread crumbs. Drizzle bread crumbs with olive oil. Bake, uncovered, until brown and crispy, about 20 minutes. Let cool for a couple minutes before serving.

Nutrition Info*
Calories 335 

*According to LoseIt.com calculation of 4 servings

Better For You Pancakes

Wow, is that title even possible? Probably not, exactly.

Years ago, while working at the travel agency, I was browsing the internet during some down time. I came across one of those AOL galleries with healthy recipes, and decided that I really should TRY and eat healthier. What I found amid a bunch of recipes that did not sound appealing was a recipe for the South Beach Diet pancakes. I was intrigued. The recipe call for rolled oats instead of flour, and cottage cheese instead of oil or butter. I printed out the recipe to try at a later time.

Fast forward like four years, and I have to say I LOVE THESE PANCAKES! Plus, the recipe is for one serving! In a world of dieting (or just trying to eat healthier), baking for one is HARD. This recipe is also super easy in that you can make it in the blender (or food processor, as I discovered one morning when the blender was dirty, and I didn't feel like hand washing it). Over the years, I have topped these pancakes with strawberries or added blueberries or blackberries, but just this past week, I discovered even further heaven! I had a couple bananas on the verge of over-ripeness, so I threw one into the blender with all of the ingredients. At the end, I added some chopped up walnuts to the batter, and OMG! Banana Bread Pancakes! I made them two days in a row, they were JUST..THAT...GOOD.

 Photo from http://www.food.com/recipe/south-beach-diet-oatmeal-pancakes-109387

Here is the basic recipe I have been using. I have seen other versions, but this works well for me.

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup lowfat cottage cheese
2 egg whites (I buy Jumbo eggs)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Dash each ground cinnamon and nutmeg

Yields 2 pancakes 

Place all ingredients in a blender, and blend. I have a KitchenAid Blender, and I have discovered that using the Chop setting works best. Sometimes Mix (and definitely the faster settings) make the batter too runny. In those instances, I have added more oats to thicken the batter. You're making pancakes, so you want this the consistency of pancake batter. (Go figure.)

Heat a griddle pan over medium heat, and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Pour half the batter (or less if you want more, smaller pancakes) in the center of the pan. Now is the time to add blueberries (or blackberries or nuts) if you would like. Once bubbles have formed, and popped, go ahead and flip. This can take anywhere from 2-4 minutes depending on the thickness of your pancake. If the pancake is too dark (which happens to me all the time with a glass top stove), adjust your heat. The second side will cook in 2 to 3 minutes, again, depending on thickness.

Note on the Banana Nut Pancakes: The batter will take a little longer to cook, and may seem unset, but that is the yummy banana in the batter.

I hope you find this recipe as delicious as I do!

I use FitBit and Lose It! to figure out calorie counts, and according to my FitBit calculations, the above recipe has 241 calories, 4 grams of fat, 4.4 grams of fiber, 31.3 grams of carbs, 350.2 milligrams of sodium, and 18.1 grams of protein. (FitBit doesn't have Jumbo egg whites, so the above calculations are bases using Large eggs.)

I LOVE Pinterest!

I have fallen in love with Pinterest. It has become my new obsession. I actually spend more time on there than Facebook these days. Gasp! Shocker, I know. While Pinterest has been dubbed the place where women go to dress children they don't have, design houses they can't afford, and plan weddings they'll never have, I use the site for ideas. Ideas for our new house (keeping in mind, that my wants need to match the available funds), ideas for craft projects, ideas for gifts, and ideas for dinner (and breakfast, lunch, appetizers, parties, etc.)

I have actually made several recipes I found on Pinterest. All have been delicious, but not all have been successful. I define success as it looks just like the recipe picture. I know, I'm a bit of a perfectionist.

Here are the recipes I have made (and where you can download/print the recipe yourself.)

Breakfast

• Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins
• Pineapple Orange Smoothie (I've made these twice, the second time I added fresh strawberries.)
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal (this was DELICIOUS!)

Dinner

• Artichoke Crusted Chicken
• Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken

What I love about Pinterest as a way to find recipes is that I get to see pictures of the food, and then decide if I am interested in reading the recipe. Prior to finding Pinterest, I had to know what I was interested in finding, and search by name or ingredients. I have discovered so many recipes that I never would have even thought to look for, like Harry Potter Butterbeer Cupcakes! Can you even imagine such a thing existed? Thank you Pinterest for introducing me to such a treat!

Here are some other recipes I am looking forward to making, thanks to Pinterest.

• Oatmeal Creme Pies (like Little Debbie's!)
• Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls
• Homemade Pot Stickers
• Brownie Batter Pancakes
• Spiced Apple Sangria

Here are some pictures I took of the recipes I made.

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

Pineapple Orange Smoothie

Favorite Foods from 2011-Part 4

I was very fortunate earlier this year to travel to Europe with my sister and best friend. My sister had never been to Europe, and was about to embark on a 3-week total immersion program to learn Dutch, in Belgium. Since my sister did not speak a word of Dutch (or at least she didn't prior to picking up a Dutch dictionary before we left), French or German (the three official languages of Belgium), we started our trip in London, where they do speak English (sort of). On this trip, after London, we went to the Netherlands (Holland), before heading over to Brussels in Belgium.

Now, when most people think of Belgium, they probably think of beer, chocolate and WAFFLES! We were very excited for all three (well, two out of the three). Turns out there are two major differences in the Belgian waffles, by way of types. There are Brussels waffles and Liege waffles. I found a great blog post (and may have already posted this) on the differences.

Having tried both waffles on this trip (both covered in Belgian chocolate, of course!), it was decided that the Liege waffle is preferable. It is denser, and sweeter than the Brussels waffle. While researching recipes, it has come to my attention that making Liege waffles is time consuming, and requires special ingredients and tools. If you are able to find the Belgian Pearl sugar, and a Liege waffle iron, you are in for a treat. If you are able to find these items, here is site that offers an authentic recipe. For those of us that do not have the special equipment, I have found several sites that mention crushing sugar cubes for the pearl sugar. Here is one site that has a simple enough recipe, listed below.

1 package yeast
1/3 cup lukewarm water (about 105 degrees F- too hot will kill the yeast)
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated white sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
3 eggs
1 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Belgian pearl sugar*

1. Mix the yeast, water, sugar and salt in a bowl and let it develop or sit for 15 minutes.
2. Place the flour in a separate large mixing bowl (we use the bowl of our kitchen aid stand mixer) and make a well in the center of the flour.
3. Pour the yeast mixture into the well and mix until blended on medium speed.
4. Add the eggs (one at a time), melted butter a bit at a time, and the vanilla and cinnamon. Be sure to mix well after each addition to the batter. Keep in mind the batter will be thick and VERY sticky (this is normal).
5. Remove the bowl from the mixer and let the dough rest until it doubles in volume inside the bowl.
6. Gently fold in the pearl sugar and let the dough rest for 15 more minutes.
7. While the dough is resting, heat the waffle iron (we use a Waring Pro Belgian Waffle Iron and I recommend Belgian waffle irons because they have the deep pockets).
8. Spoon about a 2" ball of dough into the center of the waffle iron (this should yield a waffle that is about 4" in diameter). I know that sounds small, but these rich waffles pack quite a punch. Waffles will take 3 to 5 minutes to bake (in our waffle iron, they take 3 minutes and 15 seconds on level 3).

Liege Waffle with Belgian Chocolate, Strawberries and Whipped Cream

* Recipe author note on pearl sugar:

It has been our experience that Belgian pearl sugar is difficult to find in the U.S. so we buy C&H sugar cubes (normally for coffee), place about 60 of them in a plastic Ziploc bag and 'crush' them with a meat tenderizer (you could use a rolling pin or heavy sauce pan as well). Then put the sugar through a sifter maintaining only the 'pearls' of sugar for the waffles. You need about 1 cup of pearls. The fine sugar that goes through the sifter can be put in your kitchen sugar jar or used to sweeten the strawberries if you are using them for the topping. I was able to find an online source at L'Epicerie. See the pearl sugar photo to the right so that you know what you are trying to obtain.

The addition of pearl sugar in the batter is what gives these waffles that special caramelized Liege waffle taste. However, that same sugar makes them sort of sticky so be careful not to burn yourself when removing them from the waffle iron.

The pearl sugar also makes clean-up of the waffle iron tricky. As the sugar melts, it runs in the crevices of the waffle iron. So my biggest tip is that after you finish baking your waffles, clean the waffle iron while it is still warm. If it cools completely, the caramel sugar mixture can be nearly impossible to get off the iron.
These waffles freeze extremely well so consider making a double batch. We just let the waffles cool, wrap them individually in Saran wrap, and then place them in a large Ziploc freezer bag. When we want one, we remove it from the freezer and put it in the oven on a baking sheet to heat it up.

Favorite Foods from 2011-Part 3

As you can tell from the title of this blog, I love to travel, and I love food. Continuing with my favorite foods from the last year, today I am sharing another recipe from Disney, this time from Shutters at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort, in Orlando. The Caribbean Pasta with chicken is so delicious! (You can also get the recipe with shrimp instead.) It's creamy, with just a touch of heat, which, after researching the recipe, I discovered comes from fresh jalapeno. If you cannot find orechiette pasta (which is Italian for "little ears"), medium shells would work just as well. (I found this recipe on http://www.allears.net/.) This recipe is for one serving.

1 ounce Red Peppers

1 ounce Green Peppers
1 ounce Diced onions
1/4 ounce Jalapenos
2 ounce Heavy cream
1 ounce White wine
1 ounce Tomatoes
4 ounces Chorizo Sausage
1/4 ounce Cooking oil
1/4  ounce Goat cheese
1 ounce Spinach
4 ounces Cooked Orechiette Pasta
6 pieces Shrimp OR 5 ounces Chicken breast

1. In large pan, bring water to a boil and add 4 ounces of Orechiette Pasta.
2. Cut vegetables (small diced red, green, and jalapenos peppers, and onions) (medium diced tomatoes and Chorizo sausage).
3. In hot sauté pan, add oil, onions, peppers (red, green and jalapenos) and cook until tender.
4. Add Chorizo sausage and any other add-ons you would like to have.
5. Deglaze with white wine.
6. Add heavy cream and add pasta, tomatoes, and spinach.
7. Sprinkle on the goat cheese.

While this recipe did not taste exactly like dish at Shutters (face it, do they ever?), it is a great dish if you are craving something similar. ENJOY!

Favorite Foods from 2011-Part 2

Yesterday I wrote about Blue Bayou's Monte Cristo sandwich and Au Gratin Potatoes. Today, I am going to tell you about another awesome recipe featuring potatoes.

The Pioneer Woman has become my favorite person of 2011 (easily trumping Rachael Ray). She blogs, writes cook books and wrote probably one of my (and all of my sisters, it seems) favorite books of the year (From Black Heels to Tractor Wheels). Ree Drummond is the Pioneer Woman, and I think she is awesome. Here is her recipe for Potato-Leek Pizza. It is one of the tastiest pizzas I have had in a long time. Makes me want to make it tonight for dinner. (From The Pioneer Woman Cooks copyright 2009.)

Pizza Dough (I will share my recipe for dough at the end, but any refrigerated dough will work)
Extra Vigin Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
6 slices thick cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 leeks, rinsed well to remove grit, and thinly sliced
5 small red or Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced paper thin
1 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced thin
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
Grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly gound black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
2. Prepare the pizza crust and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with salt.
3. Begin by placing the bacon in a skillet over medium heat. Fry the bacon until cooked, but not crisp.
4. Remove the bacon from the pan and set aside.
5. Pour off most of the grease. Do not clean the skillet. Return the skillet to the stove and turn the heat to medium-low.
6. Add the leeks to the pan and saute over medium-low heat until soft, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
7. Using a sharp knife or mandoline, slice the potatoes very thin. You'll need to do this just before you need them, as the potatoes will brown very quickly.
8. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer all over the crust, slightly overlapping the edges.
9. Sprinkle the potatoes lightly with salt, then lay the mozzarella slices in a single layer on top of the potatoes.
10. Place the leeks on top of the cheese.
11. Sprinkle the fried bacon over the leeks.
12. Then add the crumbled goat cheese, grated Parmesan and a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper.
13. Bake for 8 to 11 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly. Cut into wedges or squares and serve immediately.

For step by step picture instructions, pick up Ree's book, The Pioneer Woman Cooks.

I have tried many recipes for pizza dough, and I have finally found my favorite. It is a tweaked version of the one listed in Food Network Magazine. This makes 2, 1 pound dough balls.

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cups warm water

1 tablespoon honey

1 packet yeast

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1. Whisk flour and salt in a bowl. Make a well and add water, honey and yeast. When foamy, add olive oil and knead for 5 minutes. (I do this in a stand mixer with the bread hook attachment.)
2. Add dough to an oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let rise until double in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
3. Divide into 2, 1 pound balls of dough.

Here are my tips for making any kind of pizza:

1. Stretch dough to desired size. Drizzle with olive oil and lightly sprinkle with kosher salt.
2. Parbake in a 500 degree F oven for 2-3 minutes, to start the crust baking (a pizza stone is an invaluable tool for a crisp, yet chewy, crust).
3. Top with desired toppings, and bake for an additional 8-11 minutes, until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly.

Favorite Foods from 2011-Part 1

When I started this blog, it was supposed to be about travel and food (and everything in between); however, it has been a while since I have posted about food. During the last month alone, I have taken some great trips, and experienced some GREAT food. For the next several days, until New Year's Day, I will share pictures and recipes of some of my favorites from the past year.

Today, I will start with a classic from Blue Bayou at Disneyland: The Monte Cristo Sandwich. (Recipe courtesy of Cooking with Mickey and the Disney Chefs copyright 2004.)

1 egg
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons water
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
8 slices egg bread (challah works well), sliced 1/2 inch thick
2/3 pound ham, cut into 4 slices
2/3 pound turkey, cut into 4 slices
1/4 pound Swiss cheese, cut into 4 slices
3 cups canola oil
Confectioner's sugar
Blackberry preserves

1. Line a cookie sheet with paper towels; set aside.
2. Whisk the egg and water together in a mixing bowl. Add flour, salt, and baking powder and whisk thoroughly, scraping the side of the bowl. Continue to whisk, for 20 minutes, until smooth.
3. On one slice of bread arrange a slice each of ham, turkey and cheese, covering the bread evenly. Place another slice of bread on top and slice sandwich in half diagonally.
4. Heat oil to between 365 and 375 degrees F in a 10-inch pan. Do not let the oil reach a higher temperature than this; if the oil starts to smoke, turn the heat down. Dip half of the sandwich into the batter, allowing excess to drain, and very carefully place into the oil. Repeat with the other sandwich half. Cook 3 minutes on each side. Place the cooked sandwich on the prepared cookie sheet in a warm oven until ready to serve. Repeat for the other 3 sandwiches. Cook the sandwiches one at a time, and allow the oil to reach the desired temperature in between each batch.
5. Sprinkle sandwiches with confectioner's sugar and serve with blackberry preserves on the side.

The potatoes served with the Monte Cristo Sandwich (and all of the Blue Bayou entrees) are to die for! I found this recipe on http://www.talkdisney.com/.

Blue Bayou Au Gratin Potatoes

3 lbs baking potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons fresh garlic, chopped
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon butter
4 oz Parmesan cheese, grated

1. Mix onions and potatoes and put into a buttered baking dish. Mix cream, garlic, salt, pepper, and thyme leaves.
2. Pour mixture over potatoes and onions, and cover with aluminum foil.
3. Put in a 350 degree F oven, and bake for about 1 hour.
4. When the potatoes are tender, remove from oven and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
5. Return to oven, uncovered, and bake until brown, about 10 minutes more.

I hope you enjoy both of these recipes as much as I did!