Comfort Foods Part 3 - Mac and Cheese

It’s the last week of comfort food. I can’t believe Halloween is next week and October is over already. 

There is nothing more comforting than a good ol’ plate or bowl of mac and cheese. You can keep your mac and cheese real simple by doing a simple cream sauce with macaroni and a cheddar cheese baked topping. You can do a time saving pressure cooker mac and cheese (Nicole will share more about that later on) or you can do a “grown up” mac and cheese with chicken and bacon and a few different cheeses. 

Nicole has a recipe for mac and cheese that you can do in a pressure cooker. It looks so simple and quick to make. For this you will need a pressure cooker of course. You will also need...

4 tbsp. of butter

¼ cup of flour

4 cups of low fat milk

1 ½ cups of chicken broth

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. dried thyme

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper  

1 pound of dried Penne pasta

1 cup Gruyere cheese

1 cup of Parmesan cheese

Melt the butter in the pressure cooker on the browning setting. Then sprinkle in the flour and whisked until dissolved. 

Whisk in the milk slow and steadily. Pour in the broth and whisk until smooth. Then whisk in the mustard, thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir in the dried and uncooked Penne pasta.

Lock the lid and cook at high pressure for 5-8 minutes.

Use the pot’s quick release method to bring the pot’s pressure back to normal. 

Unlock and open the pot and stir in the cheeses. Cover without locking and let sit for a few minutes to melt the cheese in. Open and stir thoroughly before serving. 

For my more “elaborate” version of mac and cheese you will need a simple white sauce. You can make your own or buy a plain Alfredo sauce in a jar from the supermarket.

First of all boil some pasta. Penne, Rotini’s, or regular Macaroni will do. Your choice. I usually do 4-5 cups or more of dried pasta because I cook it for my family, but you can make enough for how many people you are cooking for. Once that has cooked, drain and set aside. 

Warm up the sauce in a pot. Stir in some grated Parmesan cheese about a cup and about 2 cups of either cheddar cheese or Mozzarella. Warm it up, but be sure not to boil it. Keep on low heat.

While you are cooking the sauce and pasta, you can put the chicken in the oven. Use the method from a few weeks back when we did the chowder. Cook about 3-4 chicken breasts if you’re cooking for a large amount of people. This will take about 30 minutes. Then chop up into bite sized pieces and add to the sauce. 

After you make the sauce, fry up some bacon in small bites. Drain and pat and then add this directly to the sauce. If want a healthier mac and cheese then you can add some boiled broccoli or some spinach leaves. 

Once you have the bacon and chicken in the sauce, pour the pasta in and stir until all is coated. 

You can put it in a large casserole dish or you can do what I enjoy doing and make individual mac and cheeses. 

 Sprinkle with a mix of cheddar and Mozzarella cheese. 

Bake at 375 degrees for about 30-45 minutes or until bubbling and the cheese is browned.  

Serve right out of the oven, but be careful... don’t burn your tongue. 

Comfort Foods Part 2 - Hot Chocolate & Cookies

It’s rainy and windy, it’s my time of the year! I love cuddling up under the blankets and being comfy cozy while watching a good movie or reading a book. In keeping with the comfort food theme, we are going to share a decadent hot chocolate recipe and a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe. Both are perfect for the cold rainy days that we have ahead of us this Fall/Winter.

This is my favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe. I make this all of the time. I could probably make it blindfolded. We have made the plain recipe for a Back to School post in the past, but today we are going to make it with some yummy oats in it. 

You will need...

1 cup of brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

1 cup of margarine

2 eggs

2 tsp. of vanilla

2 ¼ cups of flour

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups of chocolate chips

2 ½ cups of oats

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. I usually do about two.

Cream the softened  margarine and the sugar. Then add the vanilla and the eggs.  

Mix the flour and the baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the wet gradually. Once it’s all mixed, then add the oats and then stir in the chocolate chips. 

Using two teaspoons, scoop the dough onto the cookie sheets. You want average sized dough scoops, not too big, not too small. 

Cook one sheet at a time for about 7-8 minutes each. 

This hot chocolate recipe was good, but it was very rich and super sweet, so you can dilute it a bit with extra milk or hot water. This makes enough for two.

Gather your ingredients...

2 cups of milk  

2/3 cups of cream

2/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips/shavings

¼ cups milk chocolate chips/shavings

¼ tsp. cinnamon

Pinch of salt

Warm 2/3 cup of the milk in a pan over medium heat. Stir in the chocolate. Stir the chocolate in until it is completely melted and then whisk in the rest of the milk and the cream. If you don’t want the cream, you can use more milk if you want to; that’s what we did. 

Continue to heat until the mixture is hot but be careful not to boil it. Add the cinnamon and the salt and then pour into cups.  Top with whipped cream or with marshmallows if you want a real sugar rush!

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2012/jan/12/how-to-make-perfect-hot-chocolate

So there you have some perfect hibernating day treats! 

Comfort Food - Chowder

We are starting to experience full on Fall weather now and there is nothing more enjoyable than eating warm yummy comfort food on rainy cloudy days. I’m a Fall person; rainy and cloudy weather give me energy and happiness and I love to use all of that energy to make “hibernating” food. We are going to focus on comfort food recipes for the next few weeks. We’ll share with you some of our favourite comfort foods and how to make them.

First up...chowder. This is not your typical clam/seafood chowder which is not everyone’s cup of tea, this is a potato chicken chowder with cheese! It’s almost like that comforting bowl of chicken soup, but thicker and heartier. I love eating this soup. You can have it as a standalone meal with some crackers sprinkled on top or some warm buttered bread, or you can have it in addition to a nice heartier Fall meal. It’s super easy to make. So here we go... 

In order to make this chowder, you will need the following:

¼ cup of butter, I use margarine

1 red onion

3 large carrots, peeled and diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

1 tsp. of dried thyme

¼ cup of flour

3 cups of chicken broth

2 cups of milk

3 Russett potatoes, peeled and cubed

2-3 chicken breasts chopped up in bite sized pieces (I cook mine in the oven on a tin foiled lined cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 30minutes. I rub them with olive oil and lightly salt and pepper them for seasoning)

1 ½ cups of grated cheddar cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

I tend to make a big pot of this soup so I usually do a doubled recipe and then you can freeze some as well and pull it out for a quick meal. I also grate a little extra cheese to sprinkle on the top.

You will need to put a large pot or stock pot on medium heat. Melt the butter and then add the carrots, celery, and onion and stir while cooking. Once they are softer, stir in the thyme.

Next whisk in the flour until lightly browned. Gradually whisk in the chicken broth and the milk. Whisk constantly until thickened. Depending on the milk fat in your milk, it may take a bit longer to thicken up. Stir in the potatoes. 

Once the potatoes have been added, bring the chowder to a boil and reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are soft. This can take about 15 minutes or more. 

When your potatoes are soft, then you can stir in the chicken and the cheese. Stir until smooth. Add the salt and pepper. If the chowder seems way too thick, you can add some more milk, but not too much because you still want it to be thick like a traditional chowder.

Serve immediately.

Pumpkin Cookies

Thanksgiving is near and we are talking about pumpkins today. In particular, baking/cooking with pumpkins.

I do love a good pumpkin pie with whipped cream, but we thought we’d try something a little different...pumpkin cookies with brown butter icing. In our search for things to bake with pumpkin, we found some other dishes/creations that you can use pumpkin in that I never would have thought of trying so you can give them a try if you’re adventurous.

Try Pumpkin chili, curry, superfood bars, risotto, oatmeal topping, tiramisu, pizza, brownies, ricotta stuffed shells, custard, salads, roasted onions, waffles, pancakes, stuffing, stir fry, pudding, ice cream pie, lasagna, relish, glaze for ham, margarita, bruschetta, dip, meatballs, grits, cornbread, chowder, Alfredo, fries, ravioli, burgers, hummus, grilled cheese, salsa, and spaghetti!

http://www.edsmith.com/en/recipes/?search=pumpkin

http://www.foodnetwork.ca/thanksgiving/photos/30-unique-ways-with-pumpkin/#!whole-pumpkin-pie-soup-recipe

http://www.countryliving.com/food-drinks/g619/our-best-pumpkin-recipes-1008/?slide=57

Back to the cookies, I got distracted by things you can make with pumpkin, Nicole has made these before, so we are using the recipe that she has used in the past while adding in our own little touches. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

You will need:

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin
• 1 cup plus 1 tbsp. evaporated milk, plus more if needed
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 4 cups icing sugar, sifted

How to:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. 

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in a medium bowl; set aside.

Cream 12 Tbsp. of the butter and the brown sugar on medium speed in until pale and fluffy. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to low. Add pumpkin, 3/4 cup evaporated milk, and 1 tsp. vanilla; mix well. Add flour mixture; mix until combined. 

So for this next step, we just used spoons to place the batter on the trays, but you can use a pastry bag to pipe the batter into 1 1/2-inch rounds. Using the pastry bag will get you a more precise nice looking cookie, but if you don’t care what they look like you can use the spoons and you’ll get a unique looking cookie.

Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until tops spring back, about 12 minutes. Cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely.

To make the icing, put the icing sugar in a large bowl; set aside. Melt the remaining 10 Tbsp. butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until golden brown.

As soon as it’s brown, immediately add the butter to icing sugar, scraping any browned bits from sides and bottom of pan. Add remaining 5 Tbsp. evaporated milk and remaining 2 tsp. vanilla; stir until smooth. Spread the icing evenly on the cookies. If the icing stiffens, stir in more evaporated milk.