2 Way Cauliflower

I know I know... this isn't a favorite of my hunnies either. He prefers straight up green beans out of the can or potatoes. When I throw something new at him, all he does is grump the whole time its being made. Ahhh... but when its finished and he takes his first taste... now THAT'S a whole nuther ball of wax!

I was nice this time around by making cauliflower the way he will eat it, smothered in cheese. But I was in the mood for mashed potatoes, minus the potatoes. I saw a very interesting dish being made on Simply Delicioso  called Spicy, Smoky Cauliflower Mash that looked like something I might eat. I just wasn't too thrilled with the idea of blending it until it became liquid. About the same time I saw Rachael Ray preparing her Cauliflower Pasta Sauce and thought I could integrate the two for a dish of my own.

Since I started the dish out the same (in a big pot with chicken broth) it was easy to make it in two different styles, each of which will make about 2 servings for a total of 4.

1 head Cauliflower, cored and chopped
Chicken Broth
1 tsp Nutmeg, fresh grated
Salt to taste
1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
1 cup Colby Jack Cheese, shredded and divided
1/2 cup Mozzarella, shredded

1) Place cauliflower bits in medium saucepan. Fill to just cover with the chicken broth and add in the nutmeg. Let cook about 15 minutes until tender. Taste before adding salt. The broth usually has enough sodium.

2) Using a pasta ladle (large flat ladle with holes) scoop out half the cauliflower and place in blender. Add 1/2 cup of the Colby and Mozzarella and hit the pulse to desired mushness. If needed, add some of the broth to thin it out. I like a lot of lumps so it doesn't remind me of baby food. Scoop into a serving bowl and cover with plastic until ready to serve.

3) Once the first is completed, strain remaining cauliflower and return to pan or serving bowl. Sprinkle with and red pepper as well as the remaining cheese and cover until ready to serve.

Happy Hour Friday Featuring Mac & Cheese!

Bar food can be either good for you or just plain good. Seldom haove I found a place that puts out a healthy free food friday. Today I focused on a classic, Mac & Cheese but, definitely not the way your used to!

The recipes below I have located all over the web. The menus are from various bars in various cities across the nation. If any of my readers have bar food they love and want to know how to make it at home, please send me the info so I can pass it on!

The Saddle Club Alpine
 211 E Holland Ave, Alpine, TX (432) 837-9770
(This one is from my neck of the woods)

Truffled Mac & Cheese

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons white truffle oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the baking dish
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups half-and-half
1/4 pound Swiss cheese, grated
1/4 pound sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 pound Fontina cheese, grated
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces elbow macaroni


1. To make the truffled mac and cheese recipe, preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

2. In a small bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, and 1 tablespoon of the truffle oil.

3. In a large, heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk for about 3 minutes, or until the mixture is thoroughly combined and forms a paste. Whisk in the half-and-half, bring to a simmer, and cook for 3 minutes.

4. Stir in the Swiss, cheddar, and Fontina cheeses and then add the mustard. Remove the sauce from the heat when the cheeses have melted. Stir in the remaining truffle oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over medium heat and cook the macaroni for about 7 minutes, until al dente. Drain the pasta and add to the saucepan with the cheese sauce. Stir well.

6. Turn the macaroni and cheese into a buttered 2-quart baking dish. (At this point you could refrigerate the casserole dish for up to 24 hours.) Top the casserole with the breadcrumb mixture and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the casserole is bubbling.

Deluxe Bar & Grill 
625 Broadway Ave. East  Seattle, WA 98102  (206) 324-9697

Fried Mac & Cheese 

1 (7.25 ounce) package macaroni and cheese mix
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
3/4 cup pimento cheese spread
1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
 2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste 
4 eggs
3 tablespoons milk
4 cups peanut oil for frying, or as needed

1) Fill a pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Stir in the macaroni, and return to a boil. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the macaroni is cooked through but still firm to the bite, about 7 minutes. Drain. Stir in the 2 tablespoons butter, the 1/4 cup milk, and the cheese packet from the package.

2) While the macaroni is still hot, stir in the Cheddar cheese, pimento cheese spread, and Italian cheese blend, and continue to stir until melted. Place the macaroni and cheese mixture in a container and refrigerate until firm, about 4 hours.

3) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the macaroni mixture from the refrigerator, and, using a cookie scoop, scoop into balls. Place mac balls on the prepared baking sheet and freeze for at least 2 hours.

4) Heat oil in a deep fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

5) Whisk the bread crumbs with the paprika, chili powder, black pepper, sugar, and cayenne in a shallow dish; set aside. Beat the eggs with the 3 tablespoons milk in a small bowl. Remove the mac balls from the freezer, coat in the egg wash, and then dredge in breading.

6) Fry the mac balls in small batches until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain briefly on a paper towel-lined plate; serve hot.

Potatoes Au Gratin ala Meal

Once again I have come up with another way to use up some of those Holiday leftovers. If your like me, the same old things just doesn't cut it anymore. We want new and exciting flavors for our taste buds to enjoy.

To accomplish this feat, I was able to whip out my brand new Black and Decker 10 Cup Food Processor... Santa was sooo good to me this year! I was caught doing the happy dance while the sharp blades made short work of my potato slicing. I'm currently working on more ideas that would involve me using it! Like the perfect Pizza Dough tomorrow!

OK... on to the meal itself. This recipe serves about 6. Adding and subtracting ingredients is a snap so if you do not have something on hand, just improvise!

mmmm Just LOOK at all the cheesy goodness!


1 cup Half & Half
1/2 cup Milk
1 tsp Cayanne Pepper
1/2 tsp Salt
4-6 Potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
1/2 cup Gruyere Cheese, grated
1/2 cup Colby Jack Cheese, grated
1 cup sliced Mushrooms
1 cup Turkey & Ham, cooked and chopped
1 cup Spinach, ribboned

1) Preheat oven to 350. Line a casserole dish in foil and spray with butter flavored oil.

2) In medium saucepan mix together cream, milk, cayanne and salt. Bring to boil and add half the potatoes. Let simmer uncovered 5 minutes, stirring constantly with a heat resistant spatula and remove to prepared dish with slotted spoon. Add remaining potatoes into cream sauce and simmer another 5 minutes.

3) Meanwhile, Spread first batch of potatoes in an even layer in prepared dish. Layer on gruyere cheese, mushrooms, turkey, ham and finally spinach. Then cover with second batch of potatoes by pouring them straight on top and spreading out.

Inside this yummy goodness!

4) Bake, uncovered for 45-50 minutes until potatoes are tender all the way through. Sprinkle the colby on top and return to oven for another 10 minutes or until cheese has melted and turned a light brown.

Turkey and Bowties

Left over turkey this year? Tired of serving it the same old ways? Well, do I have a dish for you! This is a great twist on Turkey and noodles that will "wow" your family with its flavor! Serve this up for 4 or you can always expand it for more!

2 cups Bowtie Pasta, uncooked
1 tbsp Butter
2 tbsp Olive oIl
2 Carrots, peeled, diced
1/2 cup sliced Mushrooms
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, sliced
1 cup Turkey, cooked and chopped
1 tsp Garlic, minced (or 1 clove)
1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
1/2 tsp Basil, dried
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 cups Spinach, ribboned
1/2 cup Gryuer Cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Mozzerella Cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated

1) Preheat oven to 350. Line casserole dish in foil and spray with olive oil.

2) Cook pasta according to package. Drain.

3) Meanwhile, in large skillet heat oil and melt butter. Add carrots and saute until tender crisp, about 5-10 minutes. Add bell pepper, mushrooms and cook until mushrooms brown up, about another 5 minutes. Add in garlic, red pepper, basil and salt and pepper; remove from heat. Stir in spinach and add cooked pasta, gryuer and mozzerella. Pour all into foil lined pan. Top with Parmesan.

4) Bake 15 minutes until cheese has melted.

Chicken Parcels

Here we go again... found a great sounding recipe at My Delicious Recipe and couldn't get all the ingredients at our local grocery store. So we had to improvise. If you check out theirs along with mine below you will see how far away I went to get something to come out tasting great with what we could get our hands on.

This recipe will make 6 parcels. If serving this with cheesy rice and sauteed vegetables, you will probably only need one per plate.

3 tbs Butter
1 tbsp Peanut Oil (or Olive)
2 tbsp Garlic, minced
1/4 tsp Chicken Season Salt
6 large Basil Leaves
1/2 cup Muenster, grated
1 Egg, slightly beaten
1 tbsp Parsley, dried
1 tsp Oregano, dried
1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
6 slices Jalapeno (in a jar is fine)
6 Chicken Thighs, boneless, skinless
2 pks Ham, thin slice lunch meat (Budding)

1) In small skillet melt butter in oil and saute garlic with chicken seasoning. Strain into bowl, reserving liquid for basting later. Let cool at least 10 minutes.

2) Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheet in foil and spray a roasting pan with oil, set on top of foil.

3) In large bowl, mix together cheese, egg, parsley, oregano and pepper. Set aside.

4) Place individual breasts in plastic bag layed out flat. Using hammer, skillet bottom or rolling pin flatten thigh by half thickness.

5) Lay out chicken on flat surface. Place a basil leaf, a spoonful of cheese mixture and a jalapeno slice near the edge. Roll up chicken, then wrap it in a couple of ham slices and use toothpicks to hold it together. Repeat to finish off all thighs.

6) Roll parcels in reserved butter and place on roasting pan. Bake for 20 minutes and baste one more time. Finish baking another 10 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before cutting into them.

Queso Burritos

Just because I live out in the middle of nowhere, where the town seems to be stuck in the 1800s, doesn't mean I don't get into a rush from time to time. I drive about 80 miles round trip to get my grocery shopping done each week. By the time I drag all the bags up the side of our mountain, I'm pretty wore out and don't want to think about dinner. It was one of those days I came up with this recipe. Its quick, easy, small clean up and delicious! The following recipe serves 2 but its really easy to expand for bigger families.

Frozen Burritos (any variety)
Lettuce, chopped (any variety but Romaine has the best color for this)
Tomatoes, chopped (enough to sprinkle over the top)
Onions, chopped (optional)
Jar of Queso Cheese Dip (any variety)

1) Preheat oven to burrito package directions. Line casserole dish in foil (for easy clean up) and spray with Pam.

2) Place burritos in pan, side by side, cover with queso. Bake according to package directions. Make a small slit in center of center burrito and check for doneness. Their just not so good when you bite into something frozen.

3) Gently pull them out using a spatula and lay on top of chopped lettuce. Sprinkle tomatoes and onion over top and serve.